


Sometimes Things End

by eievuiisms



Series: Sometimes Things Just Are [2]
Category: The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, Meta, Multi, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-03-07 08:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18869728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eievuiisms/pseuds/eievuiisms
Summary: The sequel to "Sometimes Things Happen", & takes place immediately after. After having one of the best nights with his girlfriend & boyfriend, Rob wakes up after having a terrible nightmare in which Elmore was being consumed by The Void. Rob is determined to figure out whether this dream is a vision of what's to come or not - even if it may lead him down an unpleasant path.CURRENTLY IN HIATUS





	1. Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when he thinks life is going to be okay, Rob is awoken by a terrible nightmare.

The cyclops clung desperately to the edge of the platform, panting as he tried to scramble back up and away from the TV static that was creeping up and threatening to consume everything in its path. “Penny!” he cried, “Gumball! Where are you!?” His eye searched frantically, before falling on the two standing on top of a rooftop, clinging to each other. He was more focused on them, but he could hear their families calling for them, urging them to jump to safety.

“Guys!” he yelled, finally getting up on the platform and away from the static. “Guys, you have to jump!” Why weren’t they moving? Why were they staying still when they were clearly in danger!? A creak made him look down and see the reason - the static was creeping right under the house. “GUYS!” he yelled again, but it was already too late.

The house shifted violently, making the fairy and cat cry in alarm, before fully plunging towards oblivion. “ROB!” he heard them yell. He opened his mouth, and - 

 

\--

 

He jolted awake at feeling a hand against his cheek. “Rob - hey,” came the soft voice to his right, Panting and afraid, he snapped his attention over to see Penny, brows raised in concern. His eye searched her for a moment before he seemed to register that what’d happened was a bad dream. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

He exhaled, leaning his head into her touch slightly, eye closed before mumbling a small ‘mhm’.

“You sure? Because it sounded bad.”

“Why, was I muttering?”

“No, but you did kinda punch Gumball by accident”

His eye opened and blinked, then glanced over his shoulder at the boy behind him, who looked back at him with a slightly unimpressed expression. “Oh.” Rob gave a small awkward laugh, then grimaced. “Sorry.”

“Yeah - good morning to you too,” Gumball joked, flashing a smile to reassure the other he wasn’t mad. He then shifted onto his stomach and elbows, and asked, “What was it about anyway?”

“Uh, n- mm.” He knew he couldn’t say ‘it was nothing’, but he wasn’t exactly eager to share it. “It was just...bad,” he murmured. Gumball and Penny exchanged a concerned glance, but didn’t press him.

“Well,” Penny said, wrapping an arm around him and leaning her head on his shoulder. “We’re here if you need to talk.”

“I know,” he flashed a smile, “Thanks.” He then glanced around at the tent, having only realized it was morning. “...What time is it?”

“Eh, it’s Saturday,” came Gumball’s response. “Who cares?”

“Normally I’d agree with you, but I kinda promised St- Mr. Small I’d do something with him.” It was a lie - and he felt bad for it - but Mr. Small was the person he felt most comfortable with when it came to discussing nightmares, and he definitely wanted to speak to him while the dream was fresh in his mind. Not that it’d leave him mind any time soon.

“Alright,” Penny said, sitting up.If she knew he was lying, she wasn’t showing it. “But at least have some breakfast before you go.” Rob raised his brow, wondering why she’d say that when she knew at this point that eating was no longer a necessity for him. “Mom still doesn’t know,” she replied, answering his unspoken question.

“Oh, that’s right, isn’t it?” The girl gave a small laugh which earned a bright smile from the cyclops.

“C’mon, you two - let’s go.” The fairy and cat left the tent, but Rob hesitated, recalling the nightmare for another moment, and shuddering. What a bad way to start a morning after a good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wasn't originally going to make a sequel for STH (which is officially a year old after today!!) but after watching 'the future' i thought it'd be an interesting idea to explore given everything i had set up in the previous fic. whereas STH was centered around the trio & them getting together, this fic will be more rob-oriented (though that's not to say penny & gumball won't have their spotlight!) & also will be exploring ideas of how a tv show world works from the eye of a character that can break the fourth wall.  
> hopefully you all enjoy what's to come!!


	2. Taking Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rob has a talk with Mr. Small about his nightmare.

“Hey, buddy!” Mr. Small greeted as soon as Rob closed the front door behind him. “How was the sleepover?”

“It was fun!” the cyclops replied cheerfully, slinging his backpack off of his shoulder and leaving it dangling in his hand. “We slept outside and everything. It was great.”

“Great! And, uh - did you actually sleep?”

“Yeah, I did actually. Um…”

“...Um?” Rob paused for a moment, and the monster’s brows furrowed. “You need t’ get somethin’ off your chest?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

Mr. Small sat on the couch, and gestured to the recliner across from him. “Talk to me.”

Rob gave a small sigh, placed his backpack next to the chair then sat in it. “It was another nightmare.”

“The TV Static?”

“I mean - sort of. Except it was...it was worse. Way worse.” Small leaned forward, listening intently. “It looked like - it was just- it was, like,  _ eating _ Elmore. I-I-It just kept  _ creeping _ up, and it wouldn’t stop, and…” he trailed off, looking away and frowning deeply. He took a deep breath, and said, “Penny and Gumball fell in.”

“...That’s rough,” the guidance counselor murmured, sympathy clear on his expression.

“...Do you think it means anything?” Rob asked quietly, looking up at him again.

“I’d figure it’s just nerves. The mind’s weird - you could have the best day of your life, and as soon as you go to sleep, you have a dream about the worst case scenario.” Rob hummed in agreement. “I know you care about them - so naturally, your mind goes to that fear of losing them.”

“And that...took the form of them falling in,” he said slowly, as if he was trying to piece it together.

“It’s possible.”

The boy paused to think it over, then shrugged. “Makes sense.” He knew that the ‘cameras’ weren’t on before or after he had the nightmare, so what the other was saying could’ve completely been the case. He still couldn’t help but feel unsettled still, though.

Mr. Small waited a few moments before asking, “You plannin’ on hangin’ with ‘em later?”

“Um. I dunno. Maybe.” The monster raised a brow. “I kinda...cut our hang our short. I wanted to talk to you, so I told them we had plans. I feel bad for lying, though. I know I don’t have to hide things from them, but…”

“Hey, sometimes you need time to deal with things alone. There’s nothing wrong with that. Though, uh - maybe next time, just tell them you need some ‘me time’. They’ll understand. They know you’ve been through a lot.”

“I know, I just - I dunno. Last night went so well. I feel like I kind of ruined it with my nightmares.”

“You didn’t. And I’m sure they don’t think that either,” Mr. Small said, a hint of a stern tone creeping in.

“I know. But  _ I _ think that.”

“And we’ll work on it.” The guidance counselor gave a small smile. The cyclops didn’t quite return it, though he tried. “Believe me, buddy - you’re makin’ good progress, all things considerin’. You’re better than you were a few months ago, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, but I want-” He hesitated, feeling a little silly for saying it, but continuing anyway. “I want to be... _ better _ than I am.”

“And if you keep up that mindset, you will be! These things take time - don’t feel frustrated at yourself for goin’ 19 in a 20 zone, if ya’ get what I’m sayin’.”

“Yeah, I think I do.” Pause. “...Thanks, Steve.”

“Hey, it’s what I’m here for. Now - you told ‘em we were hangin’ today. So why don’t we find somethin’ to do?”

“Alright. Sounds good.”


	3. Following Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rob hears voices & ends up discovering something terrible.

Rob didn't talk about the things that he knew about the World - because he never felt the need to. He once had brought it up to Gumball, when he was trying to destroy him and his life once and for all, but other than that, he mostly kept it to himself. He was still aware that the World was a TV show, and he knew when the World went on-air - or when ‘the cameras were on’, as he put it - and he knew that there were people watching, finding entertainment in the lives of those around him. He also knew that there were people ultimately pulling the strings, though he hadn't seen them for himself before.

The only reason he didn't talk about it was because who’d he talk about it with? Maybe his partners, perhaps his friends, possibly even Mr. Sm- well, scratch that, actually. He'd jokingly mentioned the idea once and the guidance counsellor had sort of freaked out. But who’d understand? None of them. None could ever understand how odd it felt, to force himself to play a role all because he - unlike everyone else - was aware that the show was going. How strange it seemed to be aware that hundreds of eyes were watching him. 

Besides that, he never had to because it didn't particularly affect  _ his _ everyday life. Maybe it was because the show rarely demanded for him to play a major role (benefits of being hard to animate, he supposed), but for the most part, he spent his days self-aware, but not quite as paranoid as he once had been. It probably helped that for the first time in his life, he was genuinely happy. Who cared about what the World had to say when he had two loving partners, friends, a roof over his head and someone who cared enough to look after him? Heck, he managed to gain all of that even after losing it all four years ago! So it made sense why he didn't want to mention his issues - everything in his life was already going so well.

 

Well, the World worked in odd ways, and it must've thought that things were going a little too well.

 

The invisible cameras were on, the show was rolling - and naturally he made sure to stay away from Gumball’s path until he knew it was over. After all, he wasn't meant to be in the episode.

Now, how he knew when people were watching was almost indescribable - but if he had to pick a term, the best way he could say was if the feeling of being watched was a physical sensation rather than a mental one. The further away he was from the frame, the less he felt it - that was how he gauged how close to Gumball he was.

So when he suddenly felt the sensation, he froze. The sensation was dulled - nowhere near as strong as how it usually felt - and it was coming from a specific direction. It didn’t exactly feel as if though  _ hundreds _ of eyes were on him, but rather only a few. He quirked his brow, and though he was hesitant, he walked in that direction.

 

Rob got particularly sketched out once his walk led him to some random, abandoned building. What its original purpose was meant to be, he couldn’t guess - maybe some kind of warehouse? Despite the unsettled feeling he was getting, he continued in.

The inside didn’t look much better - it was dark and dreary, and the metal walls looked as if they were being eaten away by rust. He didn’t seem fazed - he’d certainly wandered in worse places - but it still wasn’t ideal, to be wandering into some abandoned building in the middle of the day.

What got him, though, was that he was beginning to hear voices. He frowned deeply, and quickened his pace. The voices quickly got louder as he got closer, though they were still too muffled for him to hear. He soon found the reason why - for he soon found himself in front of a door. It was a perfectly normal, wooden door, but after pressing the side of his head and listening closely, he knew that it was definitely the source of the voices.

They were talking about...well, what Rob could only assume were different episodes and their production. They mentioned an episode with him that was going to have to be pushed back, and he gave a sigh of relief to that. There was once a time he’d be eager, but now he just wasn’t-

His heart thudded painfully when he snapped out of his thoughts by the words “final season”. He promptly attempted to open the door, but it refused to budge. “Darnit,” he muttered, but continued to listen closely. He wanted to have heard wrong - to just be hearing things - but no. These voices were legitimately talking about the end of the show. His pupil shrunk in fear, and he mentally begged for them to explain how it was going to end. They didn’t. They moved on to some other irrelevant topic before the sounds of chairs scraping the floor was heard, and judging by their voices fading, he guessed they’d left, and just like that, the sensation was gone.

 

They boy slowly backed away from the door, heart beating hard, breath laboured - heck, he was sure he’d be sweating if he could.

For all of his self-awareness, he’d known the show ending was inevitable - but he wasn’t expecting it to be so soon. He had dealt with terrifying stuff for a 13-year-old, but this was downright horrifying - if only for the fact that with the show ending, his dream seemed less like a bad nightmare and more like a warning of what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sO we're starting to touch on the meta stuff a bit. believe me, there's gonna be more of that to come as the fic progresses lol


	4. Messed With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rob takes Gumball to the warehouse where he'd heard the voices.

“Dude, I know I said I was up for anything,” Gumball said, somewhat jokingly, his paw nearly overtaken in the cyclops’, “But I didn’t realize going to some run-down warehouse was on your list of date ideas.”

“Hey, if you wanna think of it as a date, be my guest,” Rob attempted to joke back, but failed. His tone was far too agitated. 

“Rob, what’s up?” the cat asked, now mildly concerned. “You’re acting strange.”

“I know I am, but just - bare with me.” Having nearly dragged his boyfriend to the end of the warehouse, he finally stopped in front of the door. “Here it is.”

“...A door?”

“Look, I know this all seems weird-”

“A little, yeah.”

“-But I need you to do me a favour and listen to what’s behind it.”

Gumball raised a brow, but decided to humour the cyclops anyway. He pressed an ear to the door. “...I don’t hear anything.”

Not appearing surprised but still furrowing his brow, Rob gently nudged Gumball aside and listened. “...Maybe they’re not here right now,” he murmured.

“‘They?’ Who’s ‘they?’”

“Yesterday I had heard people talking about some-” he hesitated, uncertain if he should dump what he heard on Gumball. Comprehending that the World wasn’t real wasn’t something one could wrap their head around in a few short sentences - and Rob wasn’t mentally nor emotionally prepared to potentially the next few hours explaining. “...Stuff,” he settled with, though it didn’t make the other any less confused.

“What...kind of...stuff?” he asked slowly, his mildly concern gradually turning into worry for Rob.

“Don’t worry about it.” Gumball blinked, but said nothing. “The point was, I heard people talking. I even tried to open the door to see who it was, but it wouldn’t open. Look.” The cyclops reached for the knob, turned it - and the door opened.

_ Now _ he was surprised.

 

“What the-” He looked at his partner, whose worry was now beginning to show on his expression, then poked his head in the doorway. It looked like a perfectly average room. Clearly uncared for, but average. “I swear, I wasn’t able t- stop looking at me like that!”

“Like what?” the cat said, a little taken aback by the other snapping at him.

“Like I’m crazy! I’m telling you, I couldn’t get it open just yesterday!”

“Okay, first off-” he had his hands held out, mostly in an attempt to calm the cyclops. “I never said - or thought - that you were crazy. Maybe the door was just jammed or something.” Rob gave a small huff, clearly baffled by the current situation, and looking back into the room again, as if trying to search for some sort of answer. “Rob-”

“ _ What? _ ” he snapped again, this time making Gumball flinched. Immediately regretting it, he gave a small sigh, and said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t yell.”

“I was literally just about to say - you’ve been off since Saturday morning. Are you sure there isn’t something up?”

“I’m talking to Small about it.” He looked back in the room again, but only as an excuse to not make eye contact with Gumball. “Don’t worry about it.”

“A little late for that, dude.” There was a beat of silence, before he softly said, “Hey.” Rob flinched, glitching for a moment, as he felt Gumball’s paw rest on his arm. The cat quickly retracted it, thinking he might’ve just accidentally hurt him - he knew touching Rob’s static parts could be finicky - but when Rob glanced at him, not appearing to be in pain, he decided to take his hand instead. “We’re not enemies anymore, Rob.”

Rob’s heart tightened, and he swallowed. “I know.”

“You can talk to me.”

“I know,” he repeated, glancing away from his boyfriend again. He knew the cat was looking at him, waiting for him to say something. He should say something - they were supposed to be able to trust each other. “...I dunno. Maybe I’m just...paranoid.”

“About…?”

“I don’t know. Probably a lot of things. Probably nothing. I don’t know.”

Gumball didn’t say anything, though his concerned expression said it all. He wasn’t used to seeing Rob so...distressed. He usually seemed so sure of himself, but at the moment, he just seemed  _ lost _ . “...Hey,” he finally said, getting the other boy’s attention, “Why don’t we, uh, call Penny and go hang out somewhere?” He gave a smile. “Have an  _ actual _ date?”

“Yeah,” Rob replied, almost automatically, but returning the smile to assure the other that he had been listening. “Yeah, sure.”

“Cool. I’ll call her.” The cat gave him a brief, reassuring squeeze of his hand before letting go, pulling out his phone and turning to leave to take the call - though not without sparing an extra glance over his shoulder at Rob, who was staring at the room once again. He opened his mouth to speak, but Penny picked up, forcing him to take the call and leave his boyfriend to stand there.

 

Rob had his eye narrowed. He  _ knew _ what he’d heard and experienced the day before. And now he was realizing that the World may have very well been baiting him - conveniently letting him hear about the end of the show, working him up and making him fearful.

Well - it was certainly working.


	5. Concerned Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gumball & Penny talk about Rob in the cafeteria.

“This is the third time he’s skipped this week,” Penny murmured, red eyes glancing around the cafeteria and failing to see the cyclops anywhere.

“Maybe he’s with Mr. Small?” Darwin suggested.

The fairy shook her head. “I talked to him. He hasn’t seen Rob around either.”

“How? Doesn’t Rob live with him?” Gumball asked, raising a brow.

“That’s just it - he hasn’t been home as much. Mr. Small thinks he’s been purposely avoiding going home, but he’s not sure why.” She frowned after saying that last statement.

Gumball and Darwin exchanged a glance. “...Have you texted him?” the cat asked.

“I have. He’s gotten back to me, but only sporadically. He definitely hasn’t told me what’s up.” She sighed, leaning an elbow on the table and poking uselessly at her food with her fork. “Gosh, I hope he’s alright. He seemed okay the other day when we went out…” Gumball grimaced at that - and Penny most certainly didn’t fail to notice. “...What?”

“...Look, before I say this, please don’t get mad for not saying something sooner-” Penny dropped her fork on her tray and straightened, eyes widening as if expecting terrible news. “-I seriously thought he’d have told you by now. He usually seems to go to you when he’s got a problem-”

“Gumball, spit it out.”

“We were talking before the date. He was telling me about how he was paranoid.”

“Why? About what?”

“I don’t know. He said he wasn’t really sure, either.”

“Didn’t you also say he took you to a warehouse?” Darwin asked.

The cat paused, purposely avoiding Penny’s gaze by staring at the table. “...The what?” she eventually asked, her tone more confused than shocked.

The boy gave a small sigh, and explained, “He took me to some crappy warehouse. He was trying to show me something, but I don’t think the thing he wanted to show me was there.”

“What was it?”

“I-I don’t know - some door? I dunno, nothing was there-”

“Gumball,” she said, a hint of frustration in her tone that she wasn’t getting more details.

“Look, I’m sorry. I really don’t know what was up. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner - I just  _ really _ thought he’d have brought it up to you by now.”

The fairy’s shoulders slumped, her wings lowering. “It’s fine,” she murmured, “I’m not mad. I’m just...worried.”

“I am, too.” He slid his tray aside and reached across the table to gently take her hand. “Trust me - I am, too.”

Penny gave him a small smile, appreciating the affection, but it faded, and she shook her head. “...I wish he’d talk to us. This isn’t like him at all.”

Gumball hummed. “...I’m sure if it was  _ incredibly _ serious, he’d tell us eventually.” Pause. “...Right?”

Penny hesitated, then looked out the nearest window. “I sure hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aPOLOgies that this one's really short. it's more supposed to be a transition/break chapter to pace the story (& also a chance for penny to have an appearance again bc its been a while since we've seen her lol)


	6. Finding Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rob has an exchange with Penny while on his search for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (a second weekend update to make up for the shorter chapter lol)

Rob was looking for answers - he  _ needed _ answers. He  _ needed _ to know if the World would actually end once the show ended, and if so,  _ how _ it would end. Problem was, there weren't many ways to actually figure that out - not even  _ with _ the knowledge that he possessed in regards to the fourth wall. 

At the moment, he was back in the junkyard he’d once called his home, hunched in front of a TV that he’d managed to get working (though it took a lot of MacGyvering to do it), and watching through whatever episodes he could get ahold of for his own show, a sheet of paper beside him with various titles scribbled and scratched out to keep track of the ones he’d watched.

His first stab  at finding some sort of answer was to look for any sort of hint in the show - any sort of foreshadowing to indicate what could possibly happen. He’d been spending as much time as possible in front of that TV screen, and he was starting to feel it in his back, but he didn’t care. He was determined - and he wasn’t giving up until he either found the answer he needed or ran out of episodes. He’d crossed out the ones that proved useless, and put question marks next to the ones that featured the Void for so much as even a second (and tried hard not to stare or listen for too long when it did make an appearance).

Eventually, he sighed in annoyance, leaning back on his hands as he waited for the next episode to load. He was beginning to wonder if he was wasting his time. How great it’d be, to have to go back and tell his partners and guardian that the reason he was out for three days was because he was watching TV. That’d go over well, surely.

The cyclops’ attention snapped over to his phone when it started ringing. He picked it up, and saw Penny’s name and photo (a photo of him, her and Gumball that they took while at the mall one time). He’d been trying his best to at least reassure her that he was still around and alive whenever he got the chance to, so he’d been making sure to respond to her texts - and now, he was going to accept the call. “Hello?”

“ _ Rob, where are you? _ ” He nearly flinched at her tone - she sounded...not quite  _ annoyed _ , but she certainly wasn’t happy.

“Uh - at the store,” he spoke evenly, trying to ignore the pang of guilt that came with lying to his best friend of eight or so years.

“ _ And why are you there instead of at school? _ ”

“I dunno, had a craving.”

“ _ You don’t need to eat. _ ”

“I don’t, but I can still get cravings.”

“ _ Rob, this isn’t a joke. _ ”

“I’m not-” he gave a sigh, eye wandering back to the screen, which was in the middle of playing the episode. He leaned forward, and said, “I know it’s not.” He paused to see if she’d respond, and when she said nothing, he continued, “I’m just hitting a rough patch, and I don’t wanna go to school right now.”

“ _ That’s all you had to say, Robby- _ ” Ouch. That nickname hurt to hear right now. “ _ -Seriously, I’m trying to be patient, I really am. You know I never want to push you- _ ” He frowned at listening to her words, eye still staring at the screen, though he wasn’t as interested in it as he was in the conversation. “ _ -But I really am worried about you. _ ”

“Sorry. I’m really not trying to.”

“ _ Don’t apologize - I know you’re not. Why aren’t you talking to Mr. Small about it, though? _ ”

“It’s...complicated. I don’t know how I’d explain it to him.”

“ _ Well, avoiding him isn’t going to help figure out how. _ ”

“...When you’re right, you’re right, Pen,” he murmured, his tone somewhat amused. He heard her give an equally amused hum on the other line, almost sounding happy to hear him say that. As he continued to stare at the screen, which he thought was playing a perfectly average episode, he noticed something, and suddenly his disinterest in the show vanished - now it had his full attention.

“ _ So - are you going to go back home and talk to him? Maybe come back to school? _ ” He tilted his head as he watched the screen play a clip of...Banana Joe’s mom in a room full of paintings. It cut to her looking towards the screen, the painting a picture of- “ _ Rob? _ ”

“Yeah,” he replied finally, blinking as if coming out of a trance. “Yeah, yeah, I- yeah.”

“ _ One ‘yes’ would’ve been enough, _ ” she joked, earning a laugh from him as he grabbed his pencil and the sheet of paper.

“Just making sure you know that I’m agreeing. Wouldn’t want any confusion.” He was about to circle something, then hesitated. “...Penny?”

“ _ Mhm? _ ”

“...I love you. You know that, right?”

“ _ Of course. I never doubt it. And I love you, too, just so you know. And so does Gumball. _ ”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, a small - though, admittedly sad - smile appearing on his features. “Yeah, I know.”

“ _ So...see you at school tomorrow? _ ”

“Yup. You can hold me to that.”

“ _ Won’t have to. I trust you. Talk to you later. _ ”

“Later.”  _ Click _ . He put his phone aside, and promptly drew several circles around “The Oracle” on his list.

“Finally,” he murmured, then shut off the TV.


	7. A Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rob contemplates whether or not pursuing this path is worth it.

Steve Small came home from a long, uneventful day at the school to the smell of cooking. Yellow eyes blinked, at first shocked but then hopeful. He’d quickly headed to the kitchen and surely enough, there was Rob, stirring a pot on the stove. After giving a silent, relieved sigh, he leaned against the doorframe, and said, “What’s all this?”

The boy flinched, glitching briefly before quickly turning and seeing the guidance counselor. He then put on a sheepish smile. “Uh...an apology?” Small raised a brow. “I figured this was the least I could do, since...y’know.”

“Uh-huh,” the monster replied, though he didn’t sound annoyed or sarcastic. He was far too relieved to know that the boy was okay to be. “And does this apology come with, maybe, an explanation, or…”

“I was back at the Junkyard, going through some things. I wanted to be alone, but Penny said it’d be better if I came back.”

“Good to hear you had enough sense to listen.” He flashed the teen a smile, which was returned before Rob turned back to the pot. “Whatcha makin’?”

“Eh, soup. Just some of the cheap dollar store mix.”

“Hey,” Small feigned offense, “I happen to  _ like _ the cheap dollar store mix, thank you.” He could hear the cyclops trying to keep his laughs under his breath. “...I had a feeling, y’know.” Rob looked at him, confused. “That you were in the Junkyard, I mean.”

The boy paused, slowly turning back to the pot. “...Why didn’t you...come get me then?”

“Figured you’d come back on your own eventually. You might take off to do your own thing from time-to-time, but you don’t seem like a kid who’d randomly take off and run away.”

“That sounds like a lot of trust.”

“‘Cause it is. That being said, though, you really need t’ tell me before you go off doin’ that sorta thing. I won’t pretend t’ be your parent or boss or anythin’, but you  _ are _ kinda livin’ in my house which kinda makes you my responsibility. Just sayin’.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Small. I wasn’t really thinking, but I should’ve still told you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t need to apologize twice, buddy. I’m just glad you’re okay.” The stove timer went off, and he watched as the boy turned off the ring and got to work on serving the soup. “...Is there anything you want t’ get off your chest?”

Once again, the cyclops paused in his actions, this time to contemplate what he should even say to the guidance counselor. As he was forced to realize time and time again, he couldn’t just  _ say _ what was happening and expect any reaction beyond confusion. But he couldn’t say nothing, either. Steve had clearly been worried, and Rob couldn’t just act like he was suddenly okay now. “...A 3am thought,” he said, slowly and decisively as he returned to fetching a couple of bowls (Mr. Small wasn’t convinced when he’d told him that he didn’t need to eat - so the teen humoured him). He saw the monster straighten his posture out of the corner of his eye as he grabbed a ladle. “If...you knew there was a chance that the World - the world was going to end...what would you do?”

“Before I answer - is this related to the ‘thing’ you were going through?”

“Mhm.”

Small paused for a moment, genuinely in thought. “...That’s a tough one,” he murmured. “...I guess I’d make sure I was surrounded by people I care about.”

The cyclops poured some of the soup in the bowls, thinking for a moment and nodding. That did sound like something he’d do as well. “Okay. But what if you had the chance to stop it? Would you try to?”

Another pause. “I’d say ‘of course’, but truth is, I don’t know. I’d like to think I would, but I couldn’t say for sure.”

“Alright, fair enough. But let’s say you would for a second.”

“Okay.”

“What if-” he hesitated, then continued, “What if you...didn’t know how? Like - you knew you could, but you weren’t sure how to do it?”

“Then I’d try to spend more time enjoying life than trying to find answers.”

Rob tried not to frown at that - it wasn’t that he didn’t want to hear that answer; it was just that he wished he could think like that. He wished he could just  _ not _ be worried for a change. “...Come grab your soup - it’s gonna get cold.”

Small paused, but went and grabbed his bowl while the boy pulled out the utensil drawer. “...What’s eatin’ at ya’, buddy?” he asked quietly. “What is it really?”

Gosh, he wish he knew how to answer. He gave a shrug. “I dunno. I guess I’m...worried about stuff that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Oh, Rob,” Small said in a light sigh, “Why didn’t you say so sooner?” The cyclops gave another shrug. “Look, there’s no shame in worrying about the future - everyone does it. But there’s no point in dwelling on it, either.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I’m not exactly ‘everyone’, Steve,” Rob murmured as he finally sat at the table, the man sitting across from him.

“Well, of course. But whatever it is, I’m sure by the time you get there, you’ll find everything will turn out okay.”

“...Hopefully you’re right.”

 

\--

 

The cyclops was staring intently at the sheet of paper, with ‘The Oracle’ circled several times, as the scene he’d witnessed repeated in his mind - mostly of the painting. That awful painting of Gumball and his family, running for their lives - He shook his head, shaking off the image. Barbara clearly had some role in all of this. He wasn’t sure she knew quite the same things that he did, but she certainly knew something he didn’t, and he  _ needed _ that information. The thing was, now he wasn’t sure he  _ wanted _ it. He was paranoid about what would happen once the show ended, yes, but there was now a part of him reconsidering if, maybe, ignorance would be better, since he’d spoken to Small about it...No. That wasn’t true. That doubtful part of him had been there the moment he heard Penny’s voice for the first time in three days - now he was just trying to find excuses not to continue this search.

Would it really be so bad to just... _ forget _ that Elmore was just part of a TV show? Yes, there were more dire conditions at hand, but who was to say that what he’d heard those voices say was even correct? Maybe he had it all wrong. Maybe the World really  _ was _ just trying to work him up. Or maybe he was blowing it way out of proportion and the show ending wouldn’t have any severe consequences. Or maybe...maybe the show  _ was _ ending, and maybe that was a sign for him to cave and just enjoy life instead of searching for answers, just as Small had said. Again - would it be so bad? He was always so caught up in everything else - so paranoid and anxious - but only because he seemed to be the only one who knew. He looked around at everyone else, and no one else had the knowledge he did, and they seemed so much happier because of it.

 

Rob was startled out of his thoughts as his phone started ringing, and he quickly fumbled for it and saw Gumball on the screen. He picked up. “Hello?”

“ _ Good to hear you’re still alive, _ ” the other boy joked, making the Cyclops roll his eye. “ _ Penny told me you were planning on reintegrating into society. _ ”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m, uh - I’m coming back to school, next chance I get.”

“ _ Cool. Glad to hear it, dude. But, uh - I was calling to see if maybe you wanted to hang out? Penny’s coming over, and we’re just gonna watch some movies or something. Figured I’d ask since you’re apparently not MIA anymore. _ ”

The teen found himself smiling. “Yeah, sure - I’ll be right over. Need me to bring anything?”

“ _ Just yourself, _ ” Gumball said, sounding happy that the cyclops said he’d come. “ _ I’ll tell her you’re coming. _ ”

“You do that. I’ll be there in a few.”

“ _ Sweet! See you there! _ ” The boy hung up, and Rob sighed. This was precisely what he needed. A break. A break from all of his anxiety.

He left the guest room (‘his room’, as Small kept telling him; he’d yet to think of it quite the same way) and saw the guidance counselor sitting on the couch and watching TV. “I’m, uh - I’m gonna head over to Gumball’s.”

Steve’s eyes wandered over to him, blinking in surprise before a smile appeared on his features. “Alright, buddy! Have fun - and don’t come home too late. Don’t wanna mistake you for a burglar again.”

“Sure thing. Later.”

 

\--

 

One moment, he was walking on Gumball’s door. The next, the door was swinging open and the cat had his arms wrapped around him in an embrace. “Oh-!” the cyclops said, surprised, before chuckling. “Uh - hello to you, too?”

“Sorry not sorry,” Gumball replied, not releasing his grip. “I’m just happy to see you, dude.”

Too tall to hug the other boy back without kneeling, Rob settled for placing a hand on his shoulder and patting it. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“Gumball?” Both boys perked up upon hearing the fairy’s voice. “Is he here?”

“Yeah!” Gumball called back, releasing his grip and stepping aside to let Rob enter. Within moments, Penny appeared into view, appearing shocked for a moment when she actually saw him, before smiling brightly.

“Robby!” she said excitedly, rushing over. He opened his arms just in time for them to hug tightly, the both of them laughing happily.

“Hey, Pen.”

“Hey yourself!” She pulled away and placed her hand on his cheeks, being mindful of the static parts. “Where’ve you been?” The cyclops opened his mouth to answer- “Nevermind. You’re here. That’s the important thing.” He suppressed a relieved sigh at her changing the subject as she took his hands into hers and pulled him on over to the couch, sitting on his right. There wasn’t particularly a big set up - there was popcorn and a few movies, but nothing else. It was clearly meant to just be a relaxed night, and for that, Rob was glad.

“We were just about to pick out the movies,” the cat said as he shut the door, then proceeded to sit on his left. “Figured it’d be better to wait for you to choose.” He leaned over and gathered them up before handing them to the teen. 

Rob looked them over. They all appeared to be B-list movies - horror, comedy, action. After a moment, he shrugged, and said, “They all look hilariously bad.”

“That’s what I said,” Penny said, amused, and he flashed her an equally as amused look.

“Well - I’m sure they’ll all be fun to watch, so-” He turned the movies so that Penny could see them, and said, “You choose.”

She looked them over, thinking, before choosing one of the comedies. Rob showed her choice to Gumball, who looked at it, shrugged, said, “Alright.  _ A (Not) Generic Love Story  _ it is.” He took the movie, and went to put it in.

 

Penny and Rob had been right - the movie was indeed hilariously bad. The writing was predictable and the story was bland, but the acting was so ridiculous that the three of them couldn’t help but laugh, mocking the movie the whole time. They reached the end, and decided to move onto a horror - which was a little better. Not great, but better. The effects were awful, but the acting was at least more believable. Actually, there were a few scares that actually got them, and Gumball had accused Rob of accidentally shocking him after the cyclops had momentarily glitched because of him being startled, and Rob couldn’t help but laugh when he noticed the cat’s fur did look a little poofier because of it, and…

It was a good night. The first good night that he had in a while. He hadn’t thought about the events of the previous days the entire time he spent with them. He realized, at one point, just how much he’d really left them in the dust there for a moment, and he felt a pang of guilt, and he wanted to apologize, but with his partners hugging him as soon as they saw him, and all the laughing and carrying on, he quickly realized that, nonverbally, he’d already been forgiven for his absence.

 

The night eventually drew to a close, and they cleaned up and got ready to go their separate ways. “And remember - you’re coming back to school,” Penny reminded him, a hint of sterness in her tone.

“Yes. I swear, you’ll see me there.”

“Good.” She smiled, then gave him a small kiss. “Good night. I love you.”

“Night. Love you too.” With that, she headed off.

“So,” Gumball said after a moment, surprising Rob. “Any news on that door?” 

Rob blinked, totally taken off-guard by the question. Gumball didn’t seem to quite notice, though, so he said, “Uh...no-not really. I’m, uh - I’m pretty sure I was just hearing things, actually.”

Now it was Gumball’s turn to seem surprised. Rob had seemed so insistent that he’d heard something that day that he wasn’t sure Rob was actually being serious with that statement. “Really?” he asked, some doubt in his tone.

“Yeah.” Pause. “I...admittedly wasn’t in a good mental spot when I thought I heard something. So it probably was just in my head.”

“Oh.” The boy still seemed doubtful, but smiled anyway. “Well, good to see you’re feeling a little better, then.”

“Yeah. Um - I should probably head home before Mr. Small thinks I’m avoiding him again,” he joked.

Gumball nodded. “Alright. Take care, dude.”

“You too. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

 

Rob shut the front door, walked to the sidewalk and paused. He didn’t want to look for answers anymore. In attempting to do so, he was abandoning his partners, and he hated it - and it simply was not worth going through all this anxiety and pain. If finding out how everything ended meant hurting his partners, then he did not want to search anymore. He would rather stop searching than leave them behind just to ease his own paranoid mind.

...But then again, he was already close to having an answer, right? He didn’t have it, but Barbara clearly did...Instead of heading for Mr. Small’s, he headed to Banana Barbara’s home. It seemed weird, especially considering they’d never spoken before that, but maybe if he explained the situation and asked her for the answer, then maybe she’d give it and he could finally just put this bad chapter of his life behind him. Yes, maybe it’d have the opposite effect - maybe knowing what would happen would only increase his paranoia, but one thing was for sure; whatever was meant to happen, he would stay with Penny and Gumball. Even if the end of everything was horrible.  _ Especially _ if the end of everything was horrible.

 

This had seem like a fine plan in his head, but as he was approaching Barbara’s house, he froze in his tracks, feeling that sensation he’d felt several times before. The cameras were on. They were on, and he wanted to yell in frustration, because if they were on and he could feel that they were on, then that meant he had to do something terrible. That meant he had to play the villain. And above all, that meant that he couldn’t just give up on this painful journey like he had wanted to. He couldn’t, because the World wouldn’t let him. Of course it wouldn’t let him. It had led him to that door, it had allowed him to hear those voices, and it probably allowed him find that episode with Barbara, too. It  _ wanted _ him to pursue this path, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Despite the fact that he wanted to cry - feeling so angry that he was being cheated out of his chance to just move on and stop worrying - he inhaled deeply, and exhaled, recomposing himself. The cameras were on, which meant he had to do something terrible; he had to play the villain.

 

So that night, he went in, and kidnapped Barbara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an early update bc i literally just finished this chapter & writing this chapter alone has bee n an emotional rollercoaster & i was too excited //not// to post it right away (also its a lot longer than i usually write its almost 3000 words oops)
> 
> but uhhHHH yeah, the events of 'the future' are finally starting to kick into gear. poor rob can't catch a break : (


	8. Missing Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events that take place after Barbara's kidnapping, leading up to the main events of 'The Future'.

“Oh god, please don’t hurt me, I have a family-” Barbara pleaded as soon as the cyclops removed his hand from her mouth, as to have prevented her from alerting anyone of what he was doing. He set her down on the cold floor of the abandoned warehouse - the only place he could think of that anyone would not immediately think to look - not saying a word. The entire rushed trek from her home to the warehouse, his heart had been pounding and his mind was reeling. He kidnapped someone. He really went and kidnapped an innocent woman from her own home - and he didn’t  _ want _ to.

After setting her down, he immediately turned his back to her and started pacing. Not the smartest move for a kidnapper, to turn their back on their victim when they could easily escape. There was a part of him that almost just wanted her to run. If she ran, then he wouldn’t have to do whatever it was that the World was trying to do, right? Even if she ran and reported him to the authorities, it’d still be preferable than- oh god, he kidnapped somebody from their house, he broke in and kidnapped them,  _ how the hell was he supposed to come back from- _

 

“I recognize you.” He flinched, glitching for a moment, surprised to hear Barbara speak, her voice low and cautious. He quickly turned to look at her again, seeing her frightened yet confused expression. That was another thing about the ‘cameras’ being off - people had a tendency to behave differently when they were on-screen. In the case of Gumball, just as an example, it was barely noticeable - he acted the same on-screen and off-screen, but if Rob spoke to him when the cameras were on, Gumball would temporarily forget that they were in a relationship and be convinced that they were still nemeses. In Barbara’s case, it was more obvious - where she behaved more cryptically and strange on-screen, at the moment she appeared to be much more lucid, and all too aware of her current situation. And, apparently, she was able to comprehend it enough to the point of recognizing him from somewhere.

“...You do,” he replied, not bothering stating it like a question. He already figured out that it was probably her paintings that gave him away.

She gave a small nod. “You always looked so cold and cruel-” His mouth twitched downwards slightly. Gee, that didn’t make him feel worse or anything. “-But now, you just seem...lost.” She said it as if she were puzzled, which he supposed made sense if she’d only seen him while he was acting like a Villain.

The boy heaved a heavy sigh. “...I have no intention of harming you. I  _ swear _ I don’t. I didn’t even want to do this. You  _ have _ to believe me when I say that.” She only stared at him, her eyes still wary yet curious. “I...I only wanted-”

“I know what you want.” She didn’t say it all that forcefully, yet it still made him recoil slightly anyway, not expecting the sudden switch from fear to sternness. “I just want to know how you know.”

He hesitated, wringing his hands nervously - as if he actually had the right to be the nervous one in this situation - trying to figure out how to word it. “...You...know things,” he said slowly, trying to put his thoughts into the right words. “Things that others couldn’t possibly know or comprehend.” She gave no reaction. He placed a hand on his chest, and said, “I know things, too. A-And from what I know, I have reason to believe that th- Elmore might be...in some kind of danger.”

“Danger?” she asked quietly, seeming not sure if what he was saying was right. “...What kind of danger?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I was coming to you. And again - I  _ swear _ I wanted to just come and talk. I really didn’t want to do this.”

“Then what made you do it?”

“I- ...I didn’t have a choice. Please believe me. I would never have done this.”

Barbara eyed over the teen carefully once again. Everything in his body language seemed genuinely distressed, from his expression, to the way he kept messing with his hands, to even the static patches shifting rapidly with no sort of pattern. “...If I show you what you want...will you let me go?”

He opened his mouth to give what he wanted the answer to be -  _ Yes, yes, absolutely. I promise you can go right home after _ \- but he closed it, realizing that answer wasn’t entirely truthful. “...I don’t know,” he said, barely above a whisper. “Again, it’s - it’s not my choice.” He paused, then - somewhat experimentally - added, “Just like how your bouts of obliviousness aren’t yours.” She blinked, though she seemed more surprised by that statement than offended. He didn’t know if she was surprised because she didn’t know of her on-screen state of mind or if she was surprised because he somehow knew about that. She pressed her lips tightly together, giving a thoughtful expression. Rob’s limbs glitched, giving away his agitation, before he finally said, “Look, if you seriously don’t believe me, then just leave! You don’t wanna be here -  _ I _ don’t wanna  _ keep  _  you here - you’ll save us both a lot of trouble by walking out of here and going home!”

Oddly enough, she didn’t seem to even flinch at his sudden outburst. “...But that’s not my choice to make. Or yours. Is it?” He was uncertain if she was being condescending or pitying him. Either way, he didn’t answer; he just averted his gaze to the floor, hugging himself. “...You know what supplies I’ll need.”

“Yeah. I know,” he said gently. “I’ll get your things as soon as your family isn’t home.”

“And you’re going to leave me here? You trust me not to leave?”

“Again - I don’t really care if you do or don’t. I didn’t  _ want _ this.”

She squinted, as if trying to thoroughly analyze him. “...If you’re telling the truth, then maybe you aren’t as bad as how the paintings made you out to be.”

He thought that over for a moment, then shook his head, making her blink. “No. I am. I definitely am.” When she didn’t reply, he decided to turn his back to her once again, and go to a more quiet part of the warehouse.

 

\--

 

Rob ended up texting Penny, telling her with a guilty heart that he still wasn’t feeling up to returning to school just yet. He hated to admit it, but he really wanted her to get mad at him - to reprimand him for going back on his promise - so that he may find an out on this terrible situation he was forced to play a part in. Unfortunately for him, though, Penny simply replied to his text with, “it’s ok, robby, don’t force yourself to go if you can’t. As long as you’re not falling off the radar on me, i support you. Love you!” He couldn’t help but give a quiet groan as soon as he read it, though he mentally scolded himself for thinking she’d react any other way.

“Here,” Barbara said, immediately making him put his phone away and look over towards her and the canvas she had been painting on.

“That was fast,” he said, sounding impressed. He hadn’t handed over her equipment all that long ago, and yet she was finished already. He guessed it was just all a part of her power. He went over to see the picture she painted, feeling a small amount of joy that he could look and move on with his- “Wait. Where’s the rest of it?”

“There is no ‘rest of it’. This is it.”

The cyclops stared long and hard at the image, his eye searching though there wasn’t much to really search. It was just...static. Nothing but static. “...That can’t be it,” he said quietly.

“I don’t know what else to tell you. You asked for the future, and this is what I saw.”

He went silent. He knew for a fact that he wouldn’t have cared had he had been able to go with his original plan of simply asking her, finding out, then moving on. He knew he would’ve been confused, shrugged it off, then went on with his life. But no - because the World decided to put him in this situation, he knew it was because it wanted something from him. It wanted him to find something out. And he refused to think that it was as easy as just a canvas of static. “...Paint another.”

She looked up at him suddenly as if he’d made an outrageous request - which, yeah, he kind of did. “I gave you what you  _ wanted- _ ”

“And now I want you to paint another,” he said coldly, trying not to wince at himself for the sudden behavioural change.

“You said if I painted you what you wanted-”

“I said I didn’t know if I’d let you go home. Furthermore, this isn’t what I wanted. I asked for the future, not static.” She opened her mouth to retort, then paused, as if wondering if she should say what she’s thinking. She decided against speaking, instead giving a frustrated but patient sigh, murmuring ‘fine’ under her breath.

 

When she proceeded to paint a near identical picture to it, Rob stared at the image, an annoyed expression on his face and his arms crossed. “Okay, I get it - you’re mad that I won’t let you go home. But this is-”

“I swear, I’m giving you what you asked for. This is all I can see.”

“But why? Why just static? What does this even mean?” Barbara could only shrug. “Wha- Why are you shrugging? You mean you don’t  _ know? _ ”

“The meanings aren’t as clear to me when I’m...how’d you put it? Not having a ‘bout of obliviousness?’”

Rob blinked at the statement, then furrowed his brow. “That...makes sense, actually.” Not that he liked that it made sense - because that meant the only way he’d get closer to answers was if the cameras were on. Which, suspiciously, there was no hint of them coming on since he’d kidnapped her. Whatever game the World was trying have him be a pawn in, this was obviously just a part of it. “...Just - keep going. See if you come up with any different.”

“I probably won’t.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

 

\--

 

“He’s still not feeling well, huh?” Gumball asked with a frown, having noticed Penny texting with a look of disappointment.

“No,” she murmured with a shake of her head. “But he’s actually talking, so I’m not  _ as _ worried.”

Gumball’s frown only deepened. He could tell the fairy was actually  _ very _ worried, but was almost afraid to keep pushing the subject. “I can try talking to him, too, you know.”

“I know, but- I dunno, I don’t want him to feel pressured.”

“Well, no, but maybe he needs...I dunno, a verbal kick in the butt or something. He’s been doing this for nearly a week now-”

“Over a week,” she corrected.

“That’s not much better. Look - I’m not trying to give him a hard time. Whatever he’s going through’s gotta suck. But maybe I could talk to him and give him some encouragement.”

She side-eyed him. “You? Giving encouragement?” she said, half-jokingly.

“Hey, don’t act as if though it hasn’t worked with you before.”

“But that’s  _ me. _ Rob is...well...”

“...Rob.”

“Right. He might not take encouragement the same way I do.” She gave a sigh. “I really don’t know what to do here…”

“...Maybe you don’t need to do anything. Maybe he needs the space. I’m not saying he’d get irritated at you for trying to help or anything, but like you said; he’s Rob. He’s a private guy when he wants to be.”

“...I guess.” Penny was legitimately lost. She’d known Rob for years, and yet she had never known him to act quite this aloof before. Then again...he wasn’t the same person he had been when they were little kids. He might’ve been just as polite and kind as he used to be, but the more time she spent with him, the more she could tell that, emotionally and mentally, something in him had changed. She just wished she could’ve figured out what.

 

Gumball opened his mouth to speak when Darwin came over, mumbling, “Dude, what’s up with Joe?”

“What  _ isn’t _ up with him?” Gumball joked, sparing a glance at Penny. He felt a little bad to have to drop the subject, but she seemed relieved for the change in conversation.

“I’m serious. He seems...off.”

The boy blinked, then decided to look over at Banana Joe, who had seated himself at a table alone. The normally energetic boy did seem a lot more mellow. “Aw, jeez…” Gumball murmured.

“Should we ask him what’s up, or…?” Darwin asked.

“Uh…” The cat was hesitant. He didn’t want to be selfish, but he was already dealing with Rob and his episode - he wasn’t sure if he could take handling whatever Joe was going through as wel-

“I can go ask him,” Penny said, about to get up. Gumball quickly decided that actually, yeah. Yeah, he could handle it.

“No!” he said suddenly, making both the fish and the fairy flinch. He laughed awkwardly at his mild outburst, cleared his throat, and said, “No, I’ll, uh - I’ll ask him.”

“Are you sure?” Penny asked, giving a small frown.

“Yeah, yeah - it’s no big deal,” he said, hopping out of his seat. As he passed Penny, he stopped for a moment to murmur, “You’ve got enough on your plate with Rob, anyway.” He quickly continued towards the table that Joe was at before Penny could reply.

 

He paused a mere foot or two away from the table, suddenly hesitant. After all, what could possibly be so bad that it got  _ Joe _ down? He sucked in a breath through his nose, bracing himself for whatever was about to be said, then took a seat across from the other boy, which made him look up. “Uh... _ heeey _ , buddy.”

Joe eyed him for a moment, seeming confused by the cat randomly sitting across from him, but said, “Hey.”

Gumball had a nervous smile on his features, then he realized that he was supposed to be serious and  _ not _ smiling and quickly dropped it. “I, uh- I-I noticed you seemed a little down, which...isn’t really...like you.”

“Mhm.” Wow, it sounded weird for Joe to give such a low-key answer like that.

“Um...is everything alright?” he finally asked, his words mildly hurried, as if saying them faster would make him internally cringe less. He wasn’t sure if the other noticed or not, but if he did, he certainly didn’t acknowledge it.

“Uh...yeah, fine. Just...not feeling well.”

Gumball frowned, then looked over at Penny and Darwin at the other table as if seeking guidance. Penny only raised a brow, and Darwin raised his arms in a shrug, shaking his head slightly. The cat tried not to grimace. “H-Hey, come on - you can talk to me. Unless it’s something personal, then you can just politely tell me to leave. That’s fine t-”

“I think my mom is missing.”

“What.”

“I said I thi-”

“NO, dude, don’t repeat it, I-I heard you,” he said frantically. “I just- wow. Um. That sounds heavy.”

“Yeah. Dad’s really worried. A couple days ago, he came home from work and she wasn’t there.”

“And...obviously you haven’t seen her since.”

“Uh-uh.” Gumball didn’t say anything, lightly drumming his fingers against the table’s surface, randomly recalling that a couple nights ago was when Rob and Penny had been over for a movie night. “I dunno - it’s not like she hasn’t wandered off before, but something about this just feels...different.”

“...Yeah. I get that.” He continued to lightly drum his fingers before resting his paws flat on the surface. “...Well, um. I hope she comes back, man.”

“Me too.” The cat moved to get up- “Gumball?”

“Yeah?” His ears perked up.

“...Thanks.” Joe gave a small smile.

Gumball blinked, but returned the smile anyway. “No problem.”

 

\--

 

“I’m out of canvases.”

Rob blinked, having not been paying attention whatsoever. His phone had died the other day and, since he was without a charger, he’d been preoccupied with finding other ways to entertain himself. “What was that?”

“I said, I’m out of canvases.”

“What? Already? I bought you some just yesterday.”

“What can I say? I go through them fast. Doesn’t help that I’m painting a lot more than I usually do.”

He eyed her for a moment before looking over the growing pile of paintings that consisted of the same exact thing - static. It would seem comical if not for the situation at hand. He gave a patient sigh, scratching the back of his head. He wasn’t gonna say it out loud, but he was broke. If this was going to continue, he’d have to improvise. “I’ll, uh - I’ll go grab some more. D’you need more paint, too?”

“I am running a little low.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“...A sandwich, please? I’m starting to feel peckish.”

He paused, then rummaged through his pocket before pulling out some coins. “...I got, like, three dollars. I’ll see what I can do.”

 

\--

 

“Seriously - who’s bored enough to rob an  _ art supply closet? _ ” Gumball was going on at recess, having had to endure an interrogation along with the rest of his class from Principal Brown. Someone had apparently snuck in and stole a bunch of painting materials before school had started, and the principal was determined to figure out who did it. “A  _ school _ art supply closet, too. Like, seriously, you’d be better off taking a dusty piece of cardboard and slapping olive oil on it than using ages old school art supplies.”

“Yeah, I don’t get why Principal Brown cares so much,” Darwin said. “It’s not like he’d ever use it.”

“Y’know what, I bet no one even stole it. I bet someone just threw it out, and he’s just making up-” His ears perked suddenly, hearing some voices not too far away. “-Stuff…” Both boys glanced over to see Joe speaking to Penny for a moment. He could just make out Joe asking if Penny had seen anything, and she shook her head and said that she hadn’t. Joe left, moving on to the next student, as Penny walked up to the cat and fish. He frowned. “Still no luck with his mom, huh?”

“Apparently not,” Penny said, taking a seat beside him.

“And Rob?”

“Haven’t heard from him.”

“Has Mr. Small put in a report yet?”

“It’s hard to say. The police are hardly doing anything about Joe’s mom - I doubt they’re doing anything about Rob if Mr. Small did say something.” Gumball didn’t know what else to say - it had been a week since Joe’s mom went missing, and it had been a few days since Rob last said anything, and the gloomy aura as a result was becoming more and more present everyday. He merely placed a hand on his girlfriend’s back in an attempt to comfort her. She gave him a small, appreciative smile, before looking over at Joe, who was once again being told by some students that they haven’t seen anything, and that smile faded at once. “...I should help him.”

“Aw, Penny-”

“It’s sad, Gumball - watching him worry about his mom and no one helping him. There’s gotta be something I can do to help.”

“Penny, there’s already so much going on in your life-”

“It’s affecting your life, too.”

“Well, yeah, but-” He stopped himself, tried to think of a way to phrase his thoughts without accidentally coming off as insensitive or dismissive, and failing.

“I’ll be honest - I could use the distraction.”

“You could, but not by dragging yourself into more sad stuff. You get emotionally drained any more, Penny, and I’m scared you’re gonna get stuck in some other form.” He tried to make a joke about her empathic shapeshifting. She didn’t laugh. “...Okay, but seriously - you need to get your mind  _ off _ of the bad things. Not get involved with  _ more _ bad things.” She still didn’t really say anything, which made him frown. “...I’ll help him.”

“What?” she said, blinking in surprise.

“I’ll help Joe. Me and Darwin-” he placed a paw on the fish’s shoulder, “-We’ll help look for her.”

“U-Uh-” Darwin stammered for a moment, not expecting to be part of this conversation, but giving a reassuring smile anyway. “Yeah! We’ll totally help him.”

Penny looked at both of them, somewhat doubtful, but gave a sigh and a smile anyway. “Alright.”

 

\--

 

“More static?” Rob asked, sounding bored out of his mind.

Barbara could only sigh, her getting tired of painting the same thing repeatedly herself. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

He sighed, shutting his eye and rubbing his fingertips against where his temple would be. They were getting nowhere slowly, and he was so  _ tired _ . He’d been going at this for a week now. Why would the World throw him in this position if it wasn’t going to follow it up? What was the point in all of this if-

 

His eye shot open, his pupil shrinking and his body freezing up upon feeling that ever familiar feeling of hundreds of eyes being on him.

After several days of inactivity, it seemed that the cameras were on once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna wait to post this chapter but considering i spent pretty much all day working on it, i figured i earned the right to post it two days earlier than its usual time. plus, despite its length, this IS only a giant filler chapter before one of the main events of this fic happens. in my rough drafts, it was originally two chapters but i decided to combine them into one big chapter since i felt having two extra build-up chapters seemed unnecessary  
> i'm also gonna low-key acknowledge the fact that barbara, in this chapter anyway, definitely doesn't act at all like she does in the show, BUT, without spoiling anything, the mention of 'off-screen vs on-screen' behaviour will be a kinda important factor in the next chapter
> 
> now, believe me when i say - everything goes downhill from here : )


	9. Cameras On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of "The Future" - & the aftermath.

“Ugh - what just happened? Did I just black out?” Barbara asked, glancing around frantically.

“Okay, don’t panic-” Rob said through gritted teeth, having just kicked a heavy paint can without even thinking and was now sitting and trying to soothe his injured foot. Hopefully the audience at least thought it was funny. “-But yes, you did, and, uh - you might be doing a  _ lot _ of that for the next while.”

“What? Why? What’s going on? Oh my gosh, are you hurt?”

“It was self-inflicted.  _ Accidentally _ self-inflicted,” he said to reassure her. “I don’t know how to explain it in a way that makes sense, so I’m going to need you to trust me. As much as you can, anyway.” She didn’t at all seem reassured, but she didn’t say anything. The cameras were off of him for now - no doubt, focusing on Gumball and whatever he was doing right now. One thing Rob knew for sure - he was going to come to the warehouse. That was how this show usually went - wherever  _ he _ was, Gumball was sure to follow. In the meantime, all he could do was mentally prepare himself for whatever was to come during the episode - or, more accurately, for whatever he’d have to  _ do _ for said episode. He sure was hoping it wouldn’t be anything too horrible.

 

\--

 

After yelling at a less coherent Barbara to get back to work again, he hadn’t failed to notice her painting. He couldn’t acknowledge it, though - he knew it was all part of the episode - but if he could’ve, he definitely would’ve asked about it. It was a painting of Joe, Darwin and Gumball, with Gumball’s shadow pointing despite the cat himself not pointing anywhere. He couldn’t pinpoint its purpose or the reason Barbara would paint  _ that _ future event of all things. Then again, it was hard to pinpoint any action of hers in her current state, which was frustrating him a little. He thought he’d be making more progress when the cameras turned back on, but that was most certainly not the case - which made the past grueling week seem pointless and clearly was only there for there to be a significant time gap between when he kidnapped Barbara to when the rest of the episode played out.

Just another part of the World’s game, he supposed.

 

He stood some ways behind her, back facing her, arms crossed and tapping a finger against his arm. He was trying to piece together his current situation, trying to predict what was going to happen. These episodes never went smoothly - not for him, anyway - so he was trying to anticipate how and when things were going to go sideways?

The teen snapped out of his thoughts when he heard something behind him, a light suddenly entering the abandoned warehouse. With a raised brow, he quickly turned to see a bright opening located just beneath the ceiling. He looked from the opening to the canvas and noticed the white line drawn on the painting. He gasped in shocked realization. “You can...you can alter the paintings!” So  _ that _ was why she had that painting before - she was trying to get help. But if she could do  _ that _ , then that meant…”You can change the  _ future! _ ” An excited smile graced his features - a genuine reaction to this new revelation. Although he hadn’t thought about figuring out what was meant to happen in quite a while, much less trying to stop it, if she could change the future, then that meant she might be able to change whatever was supposed to-

“Only what’s left,” she answered cryptically, a smile on her face, that shattered whatever hopeful train of thought he had going on, his smile fading. It was as if the World wanted her to say that just to burst his bubble, and he’d be lying if he said that didn’t genuinely anger him to the point that he didn’t even need to force himself back into the Villain mentality this time.

”What does that mean!?” he snapped. He grabbed her, and shook her. “Talk to me, Barbara. Come on - spill your guts!”

“Okay.” He was surprised by how compliant she sounded - but as she started retching as if trying to force herself to  _ literally _ spill her guts, he quickly remembered that nothing she said or did was compliant, and in his frustration, he groaned loudly and dropped her. “Why, you-!” Why the hell did he even bother asking her  _ anything!? _ She was never cooperate - she never  _ could _ so long as these stupid cameras were on! All because the World decided to take this perfectly understanding lady and turn her into someone borderline  _ incompetent _ all because it - what? Made people laugh?  _ Entertained _ them!? If the World wanted him to learn the truth behind the show’s end so badly that it forced him to  _ kidnap _ her, then why would it make her the most absolute _ useless _ pile of-

 

_ ‘Oh god, please don’t hurt me, I have a family-’ _

The sudden flashback snapped him back to reality just in time to see what he was doing. In the midst of his rage, he had picked up a pipe and raised it, intending to swing - right at Barbara, who had her arms raised and her eyes shut tight, bracing for impact. Shocked and appalled by what he almost did, he took the pipe and slammed it on the ground instead. His hands shook, though he tried to keep them steady.  _ Oh god, I just tried to hurt her. I swore I wasn’t going to harm her and then I almost did. Why did I do that? _

**_Because you’re the Villain. That is what villains do - hurt people._ **

He glitched for a moment in his shock. That wasn’t him thinking that. That sounded like someone else’s voice entirely. He squinted, his brow furrowing (not realizing to the audience it looked as if though he was glaring at Barbara).  _ Who the hell was that? _

Completely interrupting his train of thought, Gumball, Darwin and Joe fell through the opening that Barbara had made. “Mom!” Joe exclaimed.

“Gumball,” Rob said, his voice low and resentful.

“Rob,” Gumball replied, in a similar tone.

“ _ Names _ ,” Barbara said, also mimicking the tone.

So he was going to have to go against Gumball after all. He really didn’t want to, but it seemed that he was going to be given no choice. He raised the pipe, looking like he was ready to fight.

 

_ Time to put on a show for the ones at home, _ he thought bitterly.

 

\--

 

“Paint him out!  _ Erase him! _ ”

The cat’s words practically tore right through his heart. He well knew that Gumball had the potential to perform acts that borderlined on malicious - Rob had experienced it firsthand with the Remote incident when Gumball had ejected him into the Void. But that had been different - Rob had harmed everyone he cared about and had tried to put  _ him _ in the Void (and, if going through those episodes showed him anything, he’d actually succeeded for a few moments). As far as he could see, Gumball had an actual reason for doing that.

This? This seemed more like a personal attack - and he was 90 percent sure the attack wasn’t coming from Gumball himself.

“No-!” Rob yelled, immediately launching himself forward to stop Gumball’s plan. The next few moments that took place felt like a blur in the midst of Rob’s panicked state of mind. He was quickly realizing that this - this was an attempt to take him out.  _ That _ was the purpose in all of this. It was never about discovering the answer about the show’s end - it was always about finding a reason to get him out of the picture.  _ Literally _ .

He was forcefully snapped back into reality when Darwin had so graciously used Joe to smack him away from Gumball and Barbara. He got up as quickly as he could without seeming as if he were scrambling - without seeming as if he were afraid and desperate to stop himself from being  _ erased from existence _ \- grabbing another pipe on the floor and pointing it. “I’m  _ warning _ you…”  _ I don’t wanna use this, I don’t wanna hurt anyone, please don’t make me hurt- _

“Barbara! The brush!” Before the teen could even react, Gumball took Barbara’s hand, which held the brush, and hurriedly painted a diagonal line right over the cyclops’ painted image. The effect was immediate - a slash went over Rob’s body, making the part affected disappear, the pipe in his hand clanking to the floor because, well,  _ there wasn’t a hand there anymore _ .

“No…”  _ No, nonono- _ He reached his still  _ existing _ hand towards them, taking a step. Darwin reached for the brush. “No-!” Another white line was painted over him - another slash appeared, even more of his body disappearing.  _ No, please - Gumball, stop it-! _ “No, no, you don’t get it-!” he tried to plea, genuine fear in his eye.

“ _ You’re _ gonna get it,” Joe muttered, reaching for the brush just as Darwin and Gumball had.

“Wait, no-!”  _ Oh god, this is it. This is it. He’s gonna erase me and my  _ **_boyfriend_ ** _ is going to watch.  _ “Please, NO!” He opened his mouth to scream for Gumball - his boyfriend, his friend, the one he’d decided to open up and trust, the guy he’d  _ just _ hung out and watched movies with a mere week before-

 

But before he could, Joe crossed the remainder of his image out.

And just like that, he was gone.

 

\--

 

“See ya’ in the future, Rob!” Gumball called over his shoulder lightheartedly as he and Darwin exited the warehouse, leaving Joe and his mom to take care of themselves. He actually felt  _ really _ bad for erasing Rob out of existence like that - it was more of a heat of the moment decision than anything - but he had felt better knowing that he’d come back soon.

And then he took his first step outside the warehouse, and the realization of what he did hit him like a freight train.

“...Gumball?” Darwin asked, having noticed that the cat had stopped in his tracks. His expression got even more concerned when he noticed that Gumball was actually shaking. “Hey, dude, are yo-”

“What have I done?” Gumball asked quietly - though, he seemed to be asking himself the question more than Darwin. “What did I just do!?”

“Whoa, Gumball, wh-”

“Darwin, I just - I erased  _ Rob! _ I erased  _ my boyfriend! _ Why did I do that!?”

“Gumball,” Darwin said calmly, going to put his hands on the other boy’s shoulders, but stopped when he shied away. “I-” It was beginning to dawn on him what happened as well, and he hesitated as a result, but he tried to remain calm for Gumball’s sake anyway. “I have no idea what happened, but-”

Gumball had so many different thoughts going in his head, and his heart was pounding so hard, that he couldn’t stand there and listen to the fish’s reassurances. “I-I’m sorry, I-I’ll meet you back at the house-”

“Whoa!” Darwin turned as Gumball ran right past him, “Whoa, wait - where are you going!?”

“I gotta tell Penny what happened!” he called over his shoulder. He  _ had _ to tell Penny what happened. He didn’t know why he did - and maybe there was no reason. It was safe to say that he was freaking out. The events that had taken place made absolutely no sense to him. It made no sense for Rob to be the one responsible for kidnapping Barbara. It made no sense for him not to bother asking him why. It made no sense for him to decide to erase him.  _ It made no sense for him to decide to erase him.  _ **_So why did he erase him!?_ **

His head was practically spinning, he felt short of breath - with him running so darn fast, it was hard to tell if he was pushing himself too hard or if he was legitimately having a panic attack. Whatever the reason was, he ignored it. He was ignoring everything. The cars that were trying to drive by, the people that he nearly was running into. In that moment, nothing mattered more than reaching Penny’s house. He  _ had _ to get to her house. He was so focused on getting to her house, in fact, that he had to skid and turn around because he nearly went past it.

 

Without really thinking, the boy pounding his fist on the door. Patrick answered, clearly seeming annoyed by the loud pounding. “What do y-”

“Penny,” Gumball said before he could finish, taking the man a little by surprise. “Is she home?”

Patrick looked him over uncertainly. Gumball was clearly out of breath, and his fur had gotten a little messed up from the run there, and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. Before Patrick even got to make the decision to call his eldest daughter down, though, Penny was passing behind him, stopping when she noticed the cat at the door. “Gumball?” she asked in confusion.

“I need to talk to you.”

She blinked, sharing a confused look with her father, before gesturing for him to leave. The peanut hesitated, but left, and the fairy stood in the doorway. “What’s wrong? Have you been running?”

“It’s Rob.”

“...What about him?” she asked, her expression seeming very wary.

“I - he - oh my gosh, Penny, I - I messed up!” he said, his voice breaking, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“What? Gumball, what happened?”

“I-I erased h-him-” he nearly sobbed, “He’s m-missing, and it’s- it’s my fault-”

Her blood ran cold when he said that he was missing. “Th-that doesn’t make any-”

“He kidnapped J-Joe’s mom, a-a-and I was trying to stop him, and I-I - he’s  _ gone! _ “

All Penny could do was stare in disbelief.  _ No...no, he can’t be gone. Not again- _ “Where’d he go?” she asked quietly.

“I-I don’t know-”

“Where did he  _ go _ , Gumball!?”

“I don’t know! I’m sorry, I don’t. I wish I d-did, b-but I don’t.” The weight of his words were starting to settle onto Penny, and she couldn’t help but flashback to over a year ago, when he’d suddenly vanished from Elmore without a trace. “...P-Penny?” he said softly, noticing how her eyes seemed distant. “Penny, talk to m-”

“Maybe,” she said quietly, trying to keep her voice even, “Maybe you should just...go home for now, Gumball.”

The words stung, his eyes widening. He shook his head. “No, Penny, please-”

“I’m sorry. I just - I need some time-”

“No, please, I-I’m sorry-” She started closing the door. “Penny-!” The door shut with a small click.

 

The fairy had her back against the door, her eyes still seeming distant as her mind continued to wander to the day Rob had disappeared.

_ “...Who?” _

_ “Sorry, can’t say I’ve seen anyone like that around.” _

_ “Where are you?” _

_ “Who?” _

_ “Never heard of him.” _

_ “Who’s Rob?” _

_ “I can’t find you where are you.” _

_ “idek who that is” _

_ “who???” _

_ “oh yeah, rob. that one guy i should know of because……..?” _

**_“Rob, if this is a joke, it’s not funny.”_ **

She couldn’t help it. She found herself curling up, involuntarily changing into a rabbit, and sobbing loudly, to the point that she’d alarmed her parents.

“Penny?” she vaguely heard her dad say. Before she knew it, her mother was picking her up. “Sweetie, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Rob-” she managed to get out between hiccups and sobs, “He’s  _ gone. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WU9VIEhBVkUgU1RSQVlFRCBGUk9NIFlPVVIgUk9MRS4gWU9VIFdFUkUgTkVWRVIgTUVBTlQgVE8gQkUgUEFSVCBPRiBUSElTLiBOT1cgVEhFIE9ORVMgWU9VIExPVkUgQVJFIElOIFBBSU4sIEJFQ0FVU0UgWU9VIEFSRSBCRUlORyBQVU5JU0hFRCBGT1IgWU9VUiBTRUxGSVNIIEFDVElPTlMuIEFSRSBZT1UgUFJPVUQgT0YgWU9VUlNFTEYgWUVUPwoKWU9VIFNIQUxMIEJFIEZBQ0lORyBUSElTIFBMQUNFLCBST0IuCklUIElTIFRJTUUgWU9VIFJFTUVNQkVSRUQgV0hFUkUgWU9VUiBQTEFDRSBJUyBJTiBUSElTIFNIT1cu
> 
> \--
> 
> This officially marks the end of ACT I of "Sometimes Things End". Please hang tight & be patient while I prepare the next act.  
> We're just getting started.  
> I t a l l g o e s d o w n h i l l f r o m h e r e.


	10. It Speaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the warehouse incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official beginning of Act 2 of this fanfiction. Thank you for your patience.

Mr. Small sat on his couch, his hands folded and pressed over his mouth as he stared at the TV. Not even watching it - just staring at it. Just as he’d done for every evening since he’d reported Rob as missing. ‘Worried’ did not even begin to describe what this poor man was feeling - he was terrified for the boy, and he couldn’t help but wonder if there was more he could’ve said or done to prevent him from suddenly vanishing. Had he given him too much space? Had he not asked enough questions? Had he-

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing, and with an exhale through his nose, he got up and practically dragged himself over to the phone, taking it off its receiver. “Hello?”

“ _ Small, we’ve got a bit of an update on your missing person. _ ”

His eyes immediately lit up, his posture straightening. “Rob? Did you find him?”

“ _ No, but someone did report a sighting. _ ”

“Who? Where? Where’d they-”

“ _ Well, hold on a second. They reported a sighting, but they also said that, ‘due to unfortunate circumstances’, he’s still missing. _ ”

Mr. Small blinked, brows furrowing. “...What? What does that even mean?”

“ _ We aren’t sure. They wouldn’t elaborate on what happened, but- _ ”

“Who’s ‘they?’ Who reported this information?”

“ _ I’m not sure if I’m supposed t- _ ”

“Darnit-” Steve slammed a hand on his counter in frustration, “-if it wasn’t anonymous, then who was it!?”

“ _ Alright, fine, relax - Watterson. Gumball Watterson. _ ”

His frustrated expression immediately changed into shock. “Gumball?” he repeated quietly.

“ _ Yeah. He called in not too long ago giving us the tip. Again - we tried to ask him more, but he wouldn’t elaborate. _ ” Pause. “ _...Does he have any association with...uh… _ ”

“ _ Rob? _ ” Steve said, a hint of irritation in his tone at the officer clearly forgetting the teen’s name. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and murmured, “Yeah. He does.”

“ _ So at least we know it’s not a completely random tip. _ ”

“...Yeah.”

“ _ We’ll, uh - we’ll work with what we got and we’ll try to find him. _ ”

“Alright. Have a good evening.” He didn’t even wait for the officer on the other end to return the goodbye before hanging up. He stood there for a while, his forehead pressed against the wall, his eyes shut. The officer had said ‘we’ll work with what we got’, but the guidance counselor knew that there really wasn’t much to actually work with. Not even with Gumball’s tip. What was up with that, anyway…?

He eventually wandered out of the kitchen, intending to pointlessly continue sitting on the couch, but paused at the hallway, his eyes wandering down towards Rob’s room. He had purposely avoided going in there - he’d personally never liked the idea of going through the boy’s things, especially when he wasn’t here. However, right now, he was reconsidering. It was a more dire circumstance, now that there was a second source confirming that Rob really was missing. Maybe there was something in there that could actually be helpful.

 

The monster wandered down the hallway, opened the bedroom door and entered the room. The room was actually fairly empty, though this didn’t really surprise him. Aside from the random projects here and there, the crate of VHS tapes under the bed and some gifts that Steve could guess were from the boy’s partners, it was mostly bare. Still, he decided to look through everything anyway.

He didn’t find much until he opened the drawer to the side desk. At first, he didn’t see anything, but after another, closer look, he noticed a folded piece of paper wedged in the corner of it. He carefully plucked it out, and unfolded it - and was immediately confused. It was a bunch of words preceded by “The” (“The Knights”, “The Allergy”, “The Ex”), with almost all of them being crossed out, some having question marks around them - and, notably, one of them (“The Oracle”) having several circles drawn around it.

“Oh, Rob,” he mumbled, baffled by this new discovery. “What have you been  _ doing? _ ”

 

\--

 

Rob never thought he’d ever have to experience the feeling of not existing and existing once again, but yet here he was.

Nonexistence then re-existence was, thankfully, not as painful or as strange as one would expect. It was more as if he’d fallen asleep without realizing and was only waking up now. However, waking up was definitely  _ not _ pleasant in the slightest. The moment his eye opened, he stared at the ceiling of the house, and- “Oh no. Nonono, not this-” He got out of the bed he was in, and rushed over to the window. “Ugh - no-!”

Static. Nothing but static, and strange objects, and - well, the point was, for the third time in his life, he was in the Void again. He turned away from the window, attempting to shield his vision from the static outside in order to avoid being launched into a panic attack. “Okay...it’s okay...just stay calm...there’s gotta be a reason for this.”

**_Oh, there is._ **

He flinched, his pupil shrinking as he looked around for the source of the voice but was unable to find it. He then blinked when he realized that it was the exact same voice he’d heard while in the warehouse. “...You. Who are you?”

**_You are speaking to a concept. There is no “I” or “me”. There is only “it”._ **

Rob squinted. That...made very little sense to him. “... _ Okaaay _ . So... _ what _ are you?”

**_The World._ ** He blinked in shock at the answer.  **_You’ve been long overdue a conversation with this place - so speak._ **

 

\--

 

The fairy sat on the bench, and had the green gem of her necklace in the palm of her hand, rubbing her thumb along its surface, her mind - while more calm - still wandering to past events. Currently, the day Rob had given her the necklace - and the day she’d rediscovered the necklace that triggered some of her old memories. Only when she’d heard, “Hey”, did she snap out of it.

She didn’t bother looking over - she knew it was Gumball. She had asked him to come there. “Hey,” she replied quietly. He seemed to hesitate, as if deciding whether or not it was okay to sit beside her. She moved herself over a bit, and that must’ve been enough of an okay for him to take a seat.

“...I didn’t think I was gonna hear back from you so soon,” Gumball admitted.

“I’m sorry.” The cat’s ears raised. “I wasn’t mad at you, Gumball. I just...I was upset. It didn’t seem like a good time to talk about it.”

“No, no,” he said gently, “I-I get it. I was upset, too. It probably was better just to wait.”

Penny looked at him, and gave him a small smile. It was good to know they were back on the same page. “...So...think you can tell me what happened?”

Gumball paused, then shook his head. “I don’t know if it’ll all make sense.”

“It doesn’t have to. Just tell me what happened.”

And so, he did. He explained everything - from when he went out to help Joe find his mom, to suddenly falling into the warehouse, to erasing Rob. He tried explaining it with as much detail as he could, but it wasn’t all that much. When he finished, Penny was silent. “...I understand if you’re mad at me now-”

“I’m not mad,” she murmured. “I don’t understand why you did it - but to be fair, I don’t understand why he’d kidnap Barbara, either.”

“If I had the answer to either of those things, I’d tell you.”

“I know.”

Another silence fell between the two of them. “I, um…” Gumball eventually spoke. “I...made a report to the police about what happened. Not the full details, for obvious reasons, but…”

“And what good was that supposed to do?”

The boy looked at her with wide eyes, surprised by just how cynical her tone had sounded. “I- ...I don’t know. I just thought maybe it’d help.”

“It’s not,” she replied, her brows furrowing, hand still clutching the gem of her necklace. “They couldn’t find Barbara after a week - you really think they’re gonna be able to find Rob?  _ Especially _ after what happened?”

“Well - I - um…”

“Gumball, we can’t rely on them. They’ll never find him.  _ We _ have to be the ones to look for him.”

The boy blinked. “Wh- but how? I have no idea where he could be, even  _ after _ Barbara painted him back in existence.”

“I don’t know, but what I  _ do _ know is that something’s been up with him for a while, and somehow it’s led to him vanishing. We have to be the ones to figure out what happened.”

“Alright. I’m down. Where do we start?”

She paused for a moment, thinking over their options. “...The warehouse you found him and Barbara in. Was it the same one he took you to before?”

“...Yeah,” he replied with surprised realization. “Yeah, actually. It was.”

“So tomorrow, let’s try looking there first.”

“Alright. Let’s do it.”


	11. Being Difficult

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rob has a nice, pleasant chat with the World.

“...The World?” Rob said in disbelief.

**_Yes._ **

“...I’m not buying it.”

**_You’re denying the truth._ **

“I’m not convinced that the World can speak. Sentient? Yes - to a degree. Capable of speech? No. Absolutely not.”

**_Then why, do you suppose, you are hearing a voice?_ **

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m finally losing it. I mean-” he looked out the window to the static again. “-It can’t be good for the psyche. Being repeatedly sent to this place.”

**_Maybe if you stopped being difficult, then you’d stop ending up here._ **

The cyclops paused. It didn’t sound annoyed, but it did sound condescending - almost like a parent scolding a child, even. He still didn’t entirely buy that this was the World speaking, but hell, this voice sure spoke the way he imagined the World to be; cold, mocking - looking down on him. “‘Difficult’,” he murmured.

**_Yes. Difficult._ **

“And um,” he said, heading towards the door, “What exactly have I done that’s so ‘difficult’ that warrants me being put in the Void?” He opened the door and stepped outside the house. If he was going to have this chat with this mysterious deity, he’d rather walk and talk.

**_What_ ** **_haven’t_ ** **_you done is what you should be asking. You’ve been a real thorn in this place’s side for years._ **

“And how many years are we talking? Four? Eight?”

**_Don’t be sarcastic._ **

“No, seriously, I’m asking - am I  _ allowed _ to acknowledge the fourth wall here or am I going by what I perceive as ‘my time’?”

**_Cute. You ask permission to acknowledge the fourth wall now as if you ever bothered seeking it before._ **

“Well, the  _ World _ wasn’t speaking to me before, so I couldn’t ask it.”

**_As said before - don’t be sarcastic. You are here because you are being punished._ **

“Punished for what?”

**_For sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong._ **

“I don’t have a n- whoa, wait a sec - you put me on this wild goose chase in the first place! You  _ let _ me hear those voices that put me on that path!”

**_You had a choice. You chose to pursue. And that is exactly why your are deemed a nuisance to the World. A mistake._ **

“Tell me how you really feel,” he muttered.

**_You were never supposed to leave the Void, Rob._ **

“Oh, what - and let myself rot away until I was an unfeeling husk? No thanks!”

**_You are supposed to stay where you’re placed-_ ** There was a hint of irritation in its tone, but he ignored it.

“I was just doing what I had to to survive-”

**_You are a CHARACTER. You are not meant to have your own thoughts and feelings._ **

“Yeah, well tough shit. If you really wanted me to stay in there so badly, then why didn’t you throw me back in the moment I left?”

**_You were an amnesiac. It wasn’t assumed that you’d be an issue. And by the time you did recall your memories, it was too late - you had been seen by Gumball and the audience._ **

“ _ Ohhh _ , I see. So you couldn’t throw me back because I was no longer  _ forgotten. _ ”

**_Unfortunately._ **

“Makes sense.”

**_For a moment, you seemed to be a decent addition. Your villainous schemes were up to par - you actually stayed out of trouble._ **

“Lemme guess - I started becoming annoying for you again once I got that remote, right?”

**_For someone constantly making stupid decisions, you’re awfully smart._ **

“Stupid decisions to  _ you _ , maybe. But thanks.” He casually hopped from one platform to the next.

**_Don’t fall in. You’re not done with this place yet._ **

“ _ UHHH _ , really wasn’t planning on it, but okay.”

**_Your biggest mistake, arguably, was allowing yourself to fall in love with Penny._ **

He slowed in his pace slightly, but kept walking. “...What makes you...say that?”

**_She was taken. Her and Gumball were together._ **

“Actually, her and  _ I _ were together for a hot minute, and then you decided to  _ change _ that.”

**_That doesn’t matter. You were gone, Gumball was there - they were the ones together, not you and her. And yet, you decided to get close to her, anyway._ **

“Well, give me a little credit - I wasn’t  _ entirely _ trying to.”

**_Just like you weren’t_ ** **_entirely_ ** **_trying to stop being nemeses with Gumball, right?_ ** He didn’t say anything.  **_Just as presumed. Face it - ever since you gained self-awareness, you’ve been subtly working against the World. You’ve been trying to break free from your role as the Villain._ **

“Can you blame me? It’s hard to be the Villain when the guy your supposed to hate really came to your rescue.”

**_I know._ ** Rob glitched for a moment, surprised by that response. The voice sounded almost bitter.  **_When Gumball ejected you into the Void, you were meant to stay there. Just as you were meant to stay in a state of nonexistence. Furthermore, you’d have never been able to leave if Gumball had never gone to the Void to save Molly. It seems anytime there is an attempt to rid you, he is there to bring you back._ **

Well,  _ that _ was an interesting point - but now that it mentioned it, it was actually pretty accurate. He frowned a bit in thought. “...Wait. Are you implying that it was never your decision to keep bringing me back?”

**_Of course not. Why would it be?_ **

“But - wait. I always thought you could control everyone here. That’s why they acted different when the show was going.”

**_Almost everyone._ **

“Everyone...except for Gumball?” It didn’t answer - and Rob had to try not to smile lest he get reprimanded for it, for he’d gotten ‘the World’ to accidentally admit to something. So it couldn’t control Gumball...that made some sense, he guessed - he  _ was _ the main character. But even he had a bit of a cap on him - after all, he still didn’t remember that him and Rob were in a poly relationship when the cameras were going. Maybe he could still be influenced somewhat? The cyclops wanted to voice these questions aloud, but he doubted he’d get an answer.

 

Several minutes must’ve passed by before the World decided to speak again.  **_Where are you even going?_ **

“Nowhere. I’m just walking.”

**_Well, since you’re up and on the go, then you may as well be given a destination._ **

He didn’t quite understand what it meant by that, up until he found himself running straight into something. He clutched at his face, groaning in pain, and heard the voice give an amused laugh. “Haha,” he muttered sarcastically, removing his hands from his face. In front of him, there was a wooden door. “What the…”

**_Familiar?_ **

“...This is the same door I found at the warehouse.”

**_Precisely._ **

He reached for the knob - then recoiled his hand. “Wait - how do I know you’re not tricking me? How do I know there’s anything back here?”

**_You were correct - you were purposely sent on this ‘wild goose chase’. And although your determination is a massive pain, it only seemed fair to reward your incessant curiosity with the answer you’ve been searching for._ **

That definitely made him hesitate. “...This isn’t actually a reward. Is it?”

**_There is only one way to find out._ **

Rob’s pause continued, but he eventually inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. He reached for the knob again, and turned it - this time, finding himself able to open the door all the way.

 

The room consisted of a bunch of people. A bunch of  _ real _ people, he noticed. Looking around, he also noticed that they appeared to be working away at episodes.

**_You can go in, you know. It isn’t as if they’ll see you. This isn’t even real time._ **

“What do you mean?” he asked, hesitating to enter but doing so anyway.

**_The episodes you see them working on are finished. Now, it’s just a matter of time before they’re released._ **

He didn’t say anything at first, but it did make sense. It did explain how he could’ve heard them talking about an episode being pushed back only for the events to take place mere days later. “...Wait,” he said, a disturbed realization occurring to him. “If that’s the case, then-”

**_Yes. The end is coming sooner than you had realized. Still as sharp as ever._ **

“So I’m running out of time,” he muttered to himself without thinking.

**_You all are._ **

“...Where is the end? Is it in here?”

**_You wouldn’t have been brought here if it wasn’t. You have an eye - look for it yourself._ **

Rob chose not to reply and just do as it asked. He searched around the area, attempting to find what he was looking for - but nothing of what he could find seemed to particularly stand out. An episode with Gumball, Darwin and their mom with a computer, an episode with their neighbour, an episode with some... _ weird _ fuzzy creature, an episode with some old guy-

**_And here you were just being complimented for being sharp._ **

“I beg your pardon?”

**_You just passed by it twice, you dunce. Can you not recognize a finale when you see one?_ **

“...Apparently not? They all look like normal episodes to me.”

**_Normal epis- Oh, you have got to be kidding. Since when have you_ ** **_ever_ ** **_seen a_ ** **_real human_ ** **_in an episode before?_ **

Taking the obvious hint, he went back to the episode that featured the live-action person. “Well, never - but this show is full of gimmicks. I thought it was just another one of those.”

**_Well, it’s not. Look - there’s an empty seat right there in front of that monitor. If you look through it, you’ll finally find your answers._ **

His gaze wandered over to the space it was referring to. “I’m guessing  _ you _ put that there for the purpose of-”

**_Just. Go. To. It._ **

“Alright, alright, fine.” Jeez - this thing really wanted him to finish this puzzle, huh? He sat down at the computer, switching it on. The desktop had only a default background, and almost no shortcuts on it - as if it were a fresh new computer. Upon closer observation, though, he noticed a word document labelled, “The Inquisition (FINAL DRAFT)”. With a slight, curious tilt of his head, he opened it, and began reviewing the contents. His expression remained mostly neutral, though it did have a hint of confusion in it. Mostly because he couldn’t piece together why  _ this _ episode was so special, beyond it having a real human.

Eventually, his expression changed to shock, and then - when he reached the end - pure horror. He quickly closed the document, and pushed himself away from the monitor and out of the chair, as if it had been suddenly plagued by a disease.

**_How’s_ ** **_that_ ** **_for an ending, huh?_ **

“It’s...that’s…” He slowly shook his head. “No...no, this...this makes no sense.”

**_What?_ ** It sounded genuinely confused.  **_What part doesn’t? You get to turn out to be better than you seemed, Elmore ends because the show is ending-_ **

“What about Barbara’s painting?”

**_What about it?_ ** There was a hint of annoyance in its tone at being interrupted.

“It showed the Wattersons being in the Void. I-I thought that’d be a bigger part in all of this-”

**_Well, in the case of this episode, you were wrong. It has no major part in it._ **

“So  _ this _ is how they’re gonna end it?” The static on him began growing more erratic as he got more angry. “They never find out about the show, I fall into the Void as Elmore starts crumbling, and that’s it!?”

There was no response from the World for a very long moment.  **_You are sounding...very_ ** **_ungrateful_ ** **_, Rob._ **

“This- This doesn’t answer anything! This - all this does is raise more questions!”

**_That is ENOUGH!_ ** His body glitched violently at having a voice yell that loudly inside his head, and despite his momentary fear, he managed to keep up a glare.  **_Your opinion means_ ** **_nothing._ ** **_Do you understand? No one_ ** **_cares_ ** **_what you think of it - this is just the way it’s meant to be!_ ** The boy opened his mouth to argue-  **_Shut up. You listen to me, you arrogant, stubborn little brat. When the time comes, you are going to be let out of this place. And when the time comes, you are going to do EXACTLY as the script says and not a single breath out of place, got that? You will go out there, and you_ ** **_will_ ** **_play the Villain-_ **

“No.”

The tension that filled the air after he uttered that single, defiant word was thick enough to cut it with a knife. The silence was absolutely deafening.  **_...Excuse me?_ **

His glare was gone, now replaced by a calm, yet stubborn expression. “I won’t do it.”

**_...And what the hell makes you think that you have a choice!?_ **

“Despite what you have said about me being a ‘character’, I have my own thoughts, my own feelings, and my own will. I do not have to do this. I am putting my foot down - I will not be the Villain that you want me to be.”

**_If you are not the Villain, then you are_ ** **_nobody_ ** , it hissed, almost sounding like it was vaguely threatening him.

Still maintaining his composure, he said, “I’d rather be nobody than a puppet.”

 

The World did not respond, and he didn’t know the reason for its silence, but he didn’t care. He exited the room and shut the wooden door behind him quietly, and walked to the edge of the platform.

**_You still have time to reconsider,_ ** it finally spoke again, trying to sound calm and composed but was clearly straining to do so.  **_You weren’t going to be let out until the time came anyway. You still have time._ **

Rob was silent, staring out at the wall of static that loomed in front of him. “...And who said I had to stay here?”

**_...This...place...did...obviously._ ** It spoke slowly, trying to maintain its patient facade yet speaking to him as if he were truly inept.

“But none of this is real, right?” There was a sudden shift in the air, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but imagine the World recoiling in surprise at his words. “So what’s stopping me from just…” He reached forward with his hands, eventually feeling the cool wall, the buzz of static against his fingertips-

**_Wh-What are you doing!? Stop that!_ **

-He pushed against the wall, urging his hands to move forward, urging them to break through-

**_Stop! You can’t do that! That isn’t allowed!_ **

-And they eventually did. With only a minor look of surprise that this plan of his actually worked, he twisted his hands around, and-

**_STOP!_ **

-With some exertion, he managed to tear open the wall, revealing a random spot of Elmore that he did not quite recognize but paid no mind to, and he continued to tear the hole open until it was wide enough for him to exit. He wanted to step back - to look at his handiwork with pride - but he kept his palms pressed against the edges of the exit he’d made for himself, in fear of the World trying to shut it on him.

**_Where are you even going? What are you even going to do out there!?_ **

Rob didn’t need to pause to think over that answer - he’d known it the moment he finished reading that script. “I’m going to find a way out of this stupid show before it ends.”

**_You cannot play the hero!_ **

The cyclops looked over his shoulder, though he knew there was no one to really look at. “...Watch me.”

 

With that, he exited the Void, and into the cool, fresh night air of Elmore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (im ngl y'all this is prolly my favourite chapter so far gkjfhgk)


	12. Searching Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gumball & Darwin get a head start on searching for clues for Rob. Rob finds a new place to stay to lie low until he can figure out how to get out of this mess. Meanwhile, Mr. Small tries to figure out what the sheet Rob left behind means.

Gumball hadn’t been able to sleep well at all that night. Penny may not have really blamed him for what happened to Rob, but he blamed himself. Whether he had actually intended to erase the cyclops or not, he had still been the one to initiate it. He couldn’t wrap his head around it - no matter which way he tried looking at the situation, his own actions made no sense to him. Rob was his boyfriend, and yet he had treated him as if he were a nemesis again.  _ Rob _ had even acted as if they were nemeses again - which only made him more confused. Both of them had acted as if they’d never shared a moment of affection or tenderness in their lives.

The cat eventually found himself searching in the dark for his phone, and sending a text to Penny that read, “can’t sleep. i’m gonna go to that warehouse. if you’re awake, feel free to come with me” before turning it off and proceeding to slip out of bed.

“Where are you going?” he heard Darwin whisper, pausing in his steps.

“Uh...out,” Gumball replied hesitantly.

“At four in the morning?”

“I can’t sleep. I keep thinking about what happened with Rob earlier. I-” he paused for a moment, wondering if he should mention it but quickly scolded himself for even thinking of hiding anything from Darwin. “I’m gonna go back to that warehouse and check it out before school starts.”

“I’ll come with you,” the fish replied, already climbing out of his bowl.

“You really don’t have to. I’m sorry I woke you at all - I don’t want you to be tired because of me.”

“Gumball, it’s fine. I want to. You shouldn’t go to that warehouse by yourself.”

“Mom’ll be mad if she realizes we both snuck out.”

“So we pay attention to the time and make sure we get back before she’s up. Seriously, it’s fine. I was a part of erasing Rob, too - it’d be nice to try and figure out what happened for me as well.”

Gumball opened his mouth, but closed it. “...You’re right,” he conceded. “I...probably could use an extra pair of eyes, anyway. I messaged Penny, but I doubt she’ll be awake to come with us.”

“Yeah. Maybe we’ll find something if it’s the two of us.”

Gumball nodded in agreement. “C’mon - let’s go while it’s still dark.”

 

\--

 

Rob couldn’t tell what time it was after exiting the Void, but he figured it must’ve been late considering it was still night. He shut his eye, took a breath in, then exhaled, allowing a wave of calmness to wash over him as he enjoyed the cool air against his skin. He opened his eye and looked up. The stars were visible, and he couldn’t help but smile, recalling that night they had spent outside at night, lying on the blanket and looking up at the stars.

_ “You know. It’s crazy, how much has changed. How much  _ _ we’ve _ _ changed.” _

_ “I hear that, dude. Met one new person; gained a nemesis  _ _ and _ _ a boyfriend.” _

_ “Yeah, exactly.” Pause. “...But you know what? Even though so much has happened over nearly 2 years, I don’t think I’d really change a thing. Not if it meant I couldn’t be where I’m at right now.” _

That calm feeling he felt melted into a feeling of homesickness in his stomach. Oh, how he wished he could just go back to that moment. To again have that feeling of serenity, that feeling of being loved - that feeling that everything was going to be okay.

**_It’s a scientific fact that those pretty stars you see are, in fact, dead, and have been for a very long time._ ** A small jolt to his form from shock, his eye widening and pupil slitting almost like a cat’s to reflect his mood.  **_However, you still see them because of how long it takes for their death to reach the Earth’s sky._ **

“Stop it.”

**_That’s what will happen to you and everyone else on this show,_ ** it said, its voice sounding more stern after his demand.  **_One day, you’re all going to stop existing, but no one will know for a very long time._ **

“I said  _ stop it. _ ”

**_Those viewers - those people that find entertainment in this place - they’ll just keep watching you over and over, until your memory eventually falls into obscurity, and ceases to be entirely._ **

He was admittedly hurt that it would swoop in and try to tarnish his happy memory with such cruel, vile words, but with an entity as cold as this one, he wished to be angry than hurt. “I already told you I’m not playing your freaking games,” he snapped, a growl in his voice. “Spewing crap like this isn’t going to make me change my mind.”

**_And you will not be stopped. The World simply wishes to watch and see how this all plays out for you._ **

“Don’t mock me. You saw what I just did. I could tear this place apart with my bare hands if I really wished to.”

**_If you did that, that would be extremely counterproductive to your goal._ **

He said nothing. His mood now soured, he started walking t-

**_You can’t go to the Junkyard._ **

He sighed. “Why not?”

**_Everyone will know you’re there. You’re not even supposed to be here right now._ **

“So? Maybe I want them to find me. Why should I hide from them just because  _ you _ said so?”

**_You do that, and it is a_ ** **_promise_ ** **_that you will fail before you have even begun._ **

“Are you threatening me?”

**_Would you like to find out?_ **

The teen decided to say nothing. The World obviously took that as a ‘no’.

**_You can’t go to the warehouse, either. Gumball and Darwin are heading there as we speak._ **

“What? They are? Why?”

**_Do you really wish to have the guilt and pain of your partners described to you? Because that can be-_ **

“No! No, I-I-” Darnit. He didn’t mean to sound so taken off-guard just then. He recomposed himself, though his voice shook a little still. “I already know I’m hurting them. I don’t need to hear it from  _ you. _ ” It hummed in amusement, and he honestly wished it had some sort of physical form so that he’d be able to deck it in the face. “If I can’t go to the Junkyard, and I can’t go to the warehouse, where  _ can _ I go?”

**_Home._ **

“You  _ literally _ just said-” he was about to retort, then stopped, realization dawning on him. “...Oh. You mean  _ that _ home.”

**_Mhm._ **

“...Does...someone not live there?”

**_No. Everyone here has some place or another. When one decides to leave, their spot does not get filled in - it merely sits there, vacant._ **

He frowned at that. He didn’t much like the idea of going to his old, now-abandoned house that he’d known for years before ending up in the Void. It had once seemed like a pleasant place - rough around the edges, but pleasant - but now, with the bad things that had happened to the people that once lived within it, it now seemed like it’d be a more dreary place. “...It’s a little out in the open, isn’t it?”

**_Not if you’re sneaky about it. It isn’t as if though anyone would bother looking. No one really even acknowledges that it’s there._ **

The cyclops paused, then let out a sigh. “I guess I don’t have any better options that won’t get me caught.”

**_No. No, you do not._ **

He squinted his eye, resentment clear in his features. He glanced one last time at the stars in the sky.

_ “...I love you guys.” Rob’s tone was soft. “I really do.” _

_ “...We love you too, Rob,” Penny spoke. _

_ “Yeah, we love you too, man,” Gumball said. _

Suppressing his smile as to not have his small bit of happiness mercilessly stomped on again, he started making his way to the place he once called home.

 

\--

 

“Man...we really did a number on this place, didn’t we?” Darwin asked, shining his flashlight on the part of the warehouse that was missing after a slash of white paint had torn through it, his gaze slowly wandering to said missing piece as it simply lied on the ground next to the building.

“Yeah,” Gumball replied in a murmur. “...Come on. Let’s hurry up and go in.”

Even despite the large opening in the roof, the warehouse was still too dark to see in without a flashlight. Everything in it had remained untouched since the incident that had occurred not even 24 hours ago - there were still large, white lines drawn along the floor, there was still a bus, now twisted and charred from it exploding, laying on its side near the large magnet, and a large pool of water in the middle of the warehouse, though the shark that had resided in it wasn’t in sight. “ _ Mmmaybe _ it just went into deeper water?” Darwin suggested, then added after a pause, “...Somehow?”

“Maybe,” the cat replied, eyeing the water warily. “Let’s just...go around it, though. Just in case.”

“Fine by me. Definitely wasn’t planning on swimming in that anyway.”

The two boys split up, flashlights in hand, as they went on either side of the large body of water. There wasn’t particularly much to look at - mostly scrap metal, abandoned machinery and stray tools. Darwin turned his gaze over his shoulder for a moment to see if there was anything on interest, only to bump into something, a loud wooden clatter echoing off the metal walls.

“Darwin?” Gumball said, shining his light in his brother’s direction. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, fine,” the fish replied, bending over to pick up what he’d knocked over. “I just ran into something is- whoa.”

“What?”

“Barbara’s painting is still here.” He picked up the painting, shining his light over the image of Rob falling, a look of distress on his features - and a bright pink tail painted on him after-the-fact. “Why didn’t she take it with her?”

“Beats me,” Gumball replied. “Maybe she just didn’t wanna take it with her.”

“Or she could’ve forgotten,” Darwin suggested. “Maybe we should stop by at some point and give it to her?”

“Maybe.” Gumball paused in his step, having stopped in front of a wooden door - the same wooden door that Rob had shown him forever ago, now. He could see Darwin’s light getting closer at his peripheral as he pulled up behind the cat.

“Is something behind there, do you think?”

“...Rob sure seemed to think so,” he mumbled in reply, making Darwin blink. Gumball turned to look at him, and said, “He showed me this door, and told me he’d heard people talking behind it. But I couldn’t hear anything. I know he said later that he might’ve just been imagining it, but…”

“...You don’t think he was?”

Gumball hesitated, then shook his head. “Rob knew something we didn’t. He had to’ve. Ever since that night we slept over at Penny’s place, he’s been acting weird, and now look at what’s happened.” His brother frowned, his brows furrowing, considering the cat’s words, but said nothing. Gumball let out a quiet sigh and looked to the door again. He slowly went over and pressed his ear to it. Silence. “Come on,” he muttered under his breath, as if trying to urge something to happen. “What did he hear that I didn’t?” Obviously, there was no reply. He took a step back and tested the handle. It swung open without issue, leading to that normal room. He shined the light around on it, but could see nothing that might seem out of place. Overall, it was still the same as when he’d last saw it.

 

Disappointed, he quietly shut the door. He dug through his pocket for his phone, and turned it on to check the time. “...We should probably start heading back,” he said to Darwin.

“Yeah. Should I take Barbara’s painting with us?”

“I don’t see why not. Maybe we can bring it to her after-school or something. That is, if Penny doesn’t have a place she wants to check out.”

“I can drop it off on my own if she does,” Darwin replied. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Alright. Sounds good.” He spared one last glance at the wooden door, silently hoping it’d give him a last second reason to stick around. It didn’t - it just remained as it was. “...Let’s get out of here.”

 

\--

 

Getting into his old, abandoned home had been shockingly easy. His mother had apparently left the spare key behind, still hidden under the loose board on the front porch. “She never did get that fixed…” he mumbled as he worked it into the lock, his yellow eye looking to make sure no one noticed him breaking in to what was technically his own house.

**_Well, she was a busy mother. And one a little on the low side in terms of cash._ **

He clenched his jaw as the lock finally gave away, the door opening up. “Do  _ not _ start talking about my mother. It’s bad enough you talk about Penny and Gumball, but don’t talk about someone who doesn’t even live in Elmore anymore.”

The voice  _ tsked _ lightly.  **_Such a kill-joy. And to think there were so many stories of her to share._ **

“Yeah, like the story of how much she suffered after my disappearance up until she moved away, I’m  _ sure. _ ”

**_Well, yes,_ ** the World replied as he entered the home, his expression giving away his surprise at the condition it was in. It may have been abandoned, yes, but it was clear that it had been left uncared for long even before the person who resided in it moved out.  **_Yes, she certainly did hit a rough patch._ **

“Shut it.” He closed the door behind him. He quietly made his way up the stairs, ignoring the mess that littered...well,  _ everything. _ The walls, the floors - even the ceiling looked like it’d seen better days. “...How much time did she spend outside this house?” he asked himself quietly. “How much time did she spend looking for me…?”

**_You said to ‘shut it’._ **

The cyclops shot a glare upwards, though he was glaring at nothing. “That was rhetorical, smartass.”

**_Watch your mouth._ **

“No.” Once he reached the top of the stairs, he glanced towards the kitchen and dining room. He scanned the counter, running a pink thumb over the multiple coffee stains with varying degrees of faintness, removing it only to wipe away the dust that had collected on his hand. He went into the living room, and saw the empty space where a TV had used to sit, at the tattered couch that still had that nasty spring that always stuck out no matter how hard he and his mother tried to put it back in. He humoured the memory by going over and shoving it back in the couch, mildly surprised that the World gave a small hum of amusement as well. He didn’t acknowledge it, though - it was probably more mocking than genuinely amused.

He then found himself wandering down a hallway, and stopped at a door. Rob hesitated, but eventually reached for the knob, a glitch going through his body at just how cold it was. It took him a few tries to get the door open, as if it had been closed for so long that it had jammed. When he did open it, though, he was surprised to find the room was, all dust and cobwebs aside, in good condition.

 

It was his room. It still had the same bed, with the same big, soft blanket he’d had for years but still loved. The same lava lamp that sat on the side table right by the same grey alarm clock. The same multicoloured rug that clashed horribly with the rest of the room but he’d adored it too much to get rid of it. He could even still see the large crate of VHS tapes that he used to collect sitting in the corner right by his closet. The only thing that wasn’t there was the framed picture he had of them that they’d taken one Christmas.

“She didn’t take any of my stuff with her?” No answer. “That was a serious question this time.”

**_Oh. No, she didn’t._ **

“Why?”

**_In case you came back, of course._ **

“...Of course,” he repeated in a mumble, not sounding as if he thought there was any ‘of course’ about it. It still hurt to think about his mother, leaving town because she couldn’t handle having a missing son that no one knew about. He understood why she did it, and he supported her decision, but it still pained him to think of her packing her things, exhaustion lining her face as she drove away from the city she could no longer call home.

...The boy went over to the bed, carefully removing the blanket so he could crawl in.

**_What is that point of that? You don’t need sleep anymore._ **

“I’m tired,” he muttered. “I’ve had a long day and an even longer week, and I’m going to have even more ahead of me. I just want to rest for a while.”

**_Then you shall be left to it. After all, you probably don’t need this place to torment you when you have nightmares to do that for you._ **

“ _ Very _ reassuring.” He felt a shift in the air, as if feeling the World leaving him to pursue something - or someone - else until he was ready to get up again. He stared at the ceiling, tucked in, and despite him not needing sleep, found himself slowly shutting his eye and drifting off.

 

\--

 

“Did you find anything?” Penny asked without as she’d seen Gumball and Darwin on the bus. “Wait, I’m sorry - good morning. I got your text message, Gumball. Did you find anything?”

“No, not-” Gumball started, though was interrupted by his own yawn. “Not really.”

“We found Barbara’s painting still there,” Darwin said, appearing a little on the tired side himself. “But other than that, not much.”

“Sorry we ended up going without you, Penny,” the cat apologized.

“I appreciate the apology, but I’m not mad. It doesn’t matter who checks it out, as long as someone takes a look at it.” She sat down beside her boyfriend, and said, “You really couldn’t find anything, though?”

“Nope,” Gumball replied. “I checked out the door he’d mentioned to me before, but there still wasn’t anything we could use to find him.”

She paused for a moment. “...What about the painting? Were there any hints as to where he’ll end up?”

“Not unless we know of any place that’s nothing but static.”

“Static?” she asked, confused. “Like, TV static?” Gumball nodded. “Why would Barbara-?”

“Don’t know,” Darwin said. “We were planning on giving it back to her, though. Maybe we can ask her?”

“I doubt she’ll give us a straight answer,” the other boy said. “But it’s worth a try, anyway.”

“So we go and give that to her after school?” Penny asked.

“Unless something comes up, then yeah. Yeah, we do.”

 

\--

 

Mr. Small felt as if though he was out of it all morning. He’d poured boiling water into his mug without realizing he’d forgotten to put the actual coffee in, he’d forgotten his car keys at home - heck, he had an entire conversation with Mr. Corneille and Principal Brown that was now just a foggy memory to him. He was attempting to piece together the information that he’d been given - mostly in regards to Gumball and the random piece of paper he’d found in Rob’s room. At one point, he’d considered going to Gumball and asking him, but upon seeing Miss Simian yelling at him and Darwin, he decided that maybe now wasn’t the best time.

And so he was left with the paper, which he had spread out on his desk, and was looking it over several times. He was trying to find a pattern in it all, but couldn’t come up with anything. He exhaled a deep sigh, leaning his elbows on the table and holding his head in his hands right before the lunch bell rang. He heard the bustling of students and staff outside, and instinctively got up to go to the teacher’s lounge before pausing, red pupils wandering back down to the page. His furrowed brows raised as an idea occurred to him.

The guidance counselor waited until the noise in the hall died down before peering out, glancing around to make sure no one was there before carefully putting Rob’s paper in his back pocket and heading out into the hall. He exited out into the parking lot and got into his car, pulling out and driving away. He hoped that no one saw him leaving the school - he really didn’t feel like explaining why he was leaving for the lunch period.

 

He continued driving, a look of determination on his features, before pulling up beside the Junkyard. He hesitated for a moment before fully committing to getting out of the car. He knew Rob wouldn’t be here - thinking about it, it was a mistake on his part to inform the teen that he’d known he’d be there. Although, Steve wasn’t convinced that the kid had run away like what the police had thought. Rob had never really seemed like that type of kid to him. There was something going on, and he figured the best place to start would be the place that the cyclops had frequented before moving in with Small.

Entering the Junkyard, nothing seemed particularly special. Naturally, it just seemed like a bunch of discarded trash. But he knew better - knowing Rob, he’d have probably kept himself tucked away in some place deep and hidden in the Junkyard as to not be noticed by people. He wandered through the large heaps of garbage, trying to avoid stepping directly in it and ignoring the awful smells that were coming off of them.

He was searching around for a good while, checking the time on his phone and considering having to temporarily abandon his search to go back to the school when he noticed something out of his peripheral. He turned his head, a surprised expression on his features when he noticed a random TV that sat in the shade of a garbage pile. He walked over to it, kneeling down to inspect it. It was covered in dirt and dust and was scratched up and generally seemed as if it’d seen better days. However, reaching forward and pressing a button on it, it flickered to life, static appearing on the screen, so despite its visible age, it was still working just fine.

Observing it closer, he noticed that it almost seemed modified - as if Rob might’ve changed something for some reason or another. For one, it was somehow working without the use of a plug, which was...impressive, he’d admit - but instead of simple buttons to switch channels, Mr. Small noticed a sort of dial on it. Curious, he decided to start slowly turning it, and was surprised when he’d immediately heard sound coming from it. He looked up at the screen quickly - and promptly shut it off at seeing an image of Larry seemingly proposing to him in shock. He felt as if he’d been punched in the gut, and needed a moment to catch his breath. “What the…?” he mumbled. He hesitated, but eventually turned the TV back on. He was met with static again, but turned the dial to reveal what seemed to be a sort of video. Whatever it was, it had moved on to Gumball throwing Idaho at Rocky for some reason. His brows furrowed again, and he turned the dial again. Now it was showing Gumball’s mother marking someone’s car with lipstick. He turned the dial several more times - the Wattersons fighting for a remote, Tobias with a clearly awkward Gumball and Darwin, Gumball looking as if though he were incredibly sick-

And then a title card that read ‘The Void’, which made him blink, staring it over as it cut away to what looked like opening credits before it faded into some of the students at Elmore Stadium. A thought occurred to him suddenly, and he scrambled to remove the paper from his back pocket, unfolding it quickly and looking it over frantically. ‘The Void’ was not only written on the paper, but also had several question marks around it.

A mixed feeling of panic and excitement made his heart pound, and he shut off the TV again. The lunch period was almost over by now, and he wouldn’t be able to take the TV with him - he couldn’t really hide it in his small office and knowing his luck, he’d get caught if he tried leaving it in his car. As much as he didn’t want to, he’d have to postpone this new discovery until after school. He put the paper back in his back pocket and headed back to his car, pulling away and making his way back to Elmore Jr. High.

 

He was long gone by the time the TV decided to turn itself on, the static sounding loudly from its speakers. The image on its screen flickered violently, the TV practically leaping as if the flickering were a physical force. Eventually, the screen exploded, its pieces flying and scattering across the ground, leaving the TV a broken, smoking mess.


End file.
